Deafblind International and EDbN are currently working on the second phase of the ICF project (Qualitative Study) with organizations from 6 WHO regions. This would help researchers detecting meaningful concepts for future planning and monitoring deafblindness evolution. Simultaneously, EDbN is working on obtaining an IRB approval from all regions.
On 11 November 2021, the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Health Carlos III has approved the ICF Protocol and has stated that the project has scientific value and the project methodology is appropriate for the achievement of its objectives. This favourable ethical report assures that ethical and legal requirements, as well as participants selection and data protection, are completely fulfilled. Despite the fact that the Spanish ethics certificate is valuable for the global project, it is highly recommended to obtain as much as ethical certificates as possible.
We, from EDbN, are looking for the collaboration of those organizations that work for the deafblind. Organizations with a family-focused perspective and close to people with deafblindness are needed for the project. We also seek more countries representing the WHO regions and thus include a larger amount of data for an even more accurate study. The organizations participating in the ICF CS are Kenya (AFRO region), Brazil, Argentina, Canada , Mexico (PAHO region), Nepal, India (SEARO region), Russia, Romania, France (EURO region), Egypt (EMRO region) and Australia (WPRO region).