Incidental Findings Policy

This deliverable report examines the issue of incidental findings during research carried out under the SPHINX project. The obligation to address the possibility of discovering incidental findings and describe in advance the procedure that shall be followed in such case acting both proactively (for instance acquiring consent forms by the participants), as well as following such findings (confidentiality, communication to research participants etc.) is both an ethical requirement and a formal obligation identified by the European Commission in all research that involves human participants. To this end, this report first identifies the issues related to incidental findings in research, developing the basic elements of a relevant policy, and then applies these findings onto the SPHINX project circumstances. The report concludes that, as unlikely as it is to incur incidental findings during the SPHINX project, partners are encouraged to perform a self risk assessment that could be used as guidance in view of competently addressing any relevant matter that may occur.