Characterization of Individuals and Institutions using CIRTification Online Human Research Protections Training for Community Researchers

Accessible, high-quality human research protections (HRP) training is essential to the ethical conduct of research. Here we describe the development and implementation of CIRTification Online, a comprehensive, freely available, and now completely online HRP training program designed specifically for community researchers. We characterize the over 5,800 individuals and 58 institutions that have used CIRTification Online during its first five years of availability. CIRTification users are diverse in terms of institutional affiliations, age, race and ethnicity, and research experience and roles. Formal adoption by academic research institutions has supported consistent increases in usage. Individuals affiliated with community-based organizations as well as large and small academic research institutions around the country (and some abroad) also use CIRTification. The steady increase in uptake by individuals as well as formal adoption by institutions suggests that CIRTification meets the HRP training needs of many community researchers.