CIRTification
CIRTification (Community Involvement in Research Training) is a human subjects research training program for community research partners. It’s free, self-paced, and takes about four hours to complete online.
Federal and institutional policies often require community research partners to complete “human subjects protection training” before contributing to research. Sometimes this training is called “IRB training” or “research ethics training.” It’s usually required for people who interact with research participants and/or handle research data.
Unlike other trainings, CIRTification is designed for people with no background in research. The better community partners understand research, the more they can protect research participants and contribute their unique knowledge and experience to research projects.
CIRTification is offered in English, Spanish, and Creole.
CIRTification training does not replace CITI training for UNC-CH faculty, staff, and students.
Overview
CIRTification course covers a wide range of topics, including:
- Introduction to Research: The basic terminology, activities, and people involved in research and various ethical considerations.
- The Institutional Review Board (IRB): The purpose of an IRB, people on the IRB, the process of submitting to the IRB, and the criteria that IRBs apply to the review of research.
- Research History: Past research abuses and the rules we have now to prevent future abuse. This module also introduces the goals of community engagement in research and the important responsibilities shared by community research partners.
- Eligibility & Recruitment: The importance of adhering to study inclusion/exclusion criteria and best practices identifying and recruiting research participants.
- Informed Consent: The key components of informed consent, the kinds of information included in the consent form, how to respond to participants’ questions about enrollment and withdrawal, and discussion of practical challenges and good practices.
- Collecting & Protecting Data: How to protect participant privacy and keep data safe and confidential during collection, transport, and storage.
- Handling Issues in the Field: What to do if you suspect a co-worker of falsifying data, run into a study participant outside of work, and get challenging questions from study participants.
Register for CIRTification
To enroll in CIRTification, please follow the instructions below.
- Go to https://training.ccts.uic.edu/
- Click “Register” (top right hand corner. Select “I am not from UIC”).
- Complete the registration form. When asked to select a site, please select “University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill” only from the list. If you do not select the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, you will not be able to access the user information/progress reports.
- Click “Register” to finish.
- Visit the Course Catalog. Scroll until you find information about CIRTification. Click “Learn More” and “Enroll” to enroll in CIRTification.
Certificates of Completion
The UN-CH Principal Investigator must list the names of each community partner involved in their research within the IRBIS application and must upload a copy of each person’s CIRT certificate in the individual’s personnel profile in Section 5, Multi-site Research Information.”
Certificates of completion can be found under the “My Courses” area for download. A copy of the certificate of completion must be sent to The UNC-CH Principal Investigator. Certificates of completion can be found under the “My Courses” area for download.
FAQs
Who should take CIRTification?
Who should not take CIRTification?
How is CIRTification different than CITI Training?
Who is responsible for ensuring community partners receive this training?
Can CIRTification be offered in person?
Who should take CIRTification?
The CIRTification program is intended for community partners and/or community partner organizations external to UNC-CH who are non-academic personnel (for example, community leaders, patient advocates, business associates, local government representatives, school system representatives, community-based organizations) and may or may not be engaged in research requiring IRB approval.
Attention Research Teams:
If you will be involved in human subjects research as an agent of the UNC-CH and will be working with community partners and/or community partner organizations who will be part of a research study team, responsible for recruiting and retaining research participants, obtaining informed consent, collecting data, then CIRTification is for your external community partners.
Attention Community Partners and Community Partner Organizations:
If you will be involved in human subjects research as an agent of the UNC-CH and will be responsible for recruiting and retaining research participants, obtaining informed consent, collecting data, then CIRTification is for you.
Who should not take CIRTification?
Individuals who are associated with an institution that has its own Human Subjects Training requirements must follow their institution’s requirements.
CIRTification training does not replace human subjects research training required for UNC-CH personnel engaged in research requiring IRB approval. Instead, UNC-CH faculty, staff and students are required to complete training through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative or CITI.
UNC-CH faculty, staff, and students need to complete the CITI Training for the Human Subjects Research Biomedical / Clinical Research course.
How is CIRTification different than CITI Training?
Who is responsible for ensuring community partners receive this training?
The Principal Investigator listed in the IRB application must ensure that their community partners receive this training. IRB applications will not be approved by the IRB if the application lists community partners who have not taken this training.
The PI or the staff member assisting the PI with their IRB application can forward this webpage to their community partners and direct them to the online training instructions below. When a community partner has completed the CIRT training program and passed the CIRT quiz, they will be given a date-stamped certificate of completion.
Who created CIRTification?
CIRTification was developed through the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Illinois Chicago. The CIRTification program is intended for community partners and/or community partner organizations to enhance their understanding of human subjects research processes for protecting potential research participants and conducting human subjects research effectively and safely in their communities. The program takes about four hours and can be completed in multiple sessions.
CIRTification is informed or was designed by individuals who have served as community research partners, human research protections professionals, experts in research ethics education, and faculty members who serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) on community-engaged research projects.
Can CIRTification be offered in person?
Alternatively, if it better meets the needs of the community partners, a curriculum is available with lesson plans, teaching manual, and slides. If a UNC-CH investigator chooses to implement the in-person version of the CIRTification program, please consult with OHRE in advance to ensure that the training facilitator has the appropriate qualifications.
Generally, OHRE expects the PI or other experienced faculty member to serve as the training facilitator. Learn more about the In-Person Training.
**Credit for language used: Rutgers, University of Utah, University of Illinois