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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The Division of Planning, Evaluation, and Research

IRB Training

IHS IRB members in all areas and all investigators and key personnel working in the Alaska Area must take, pass and keep current on the web-based training program at the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative CITI Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

This is the best and most comprehensive training available over the web. When registering for CITI, the “Indian Health Service (DHHS) Research Program” can be found in the last dropdown menu at the bottom of the page, labeled “All Others.”

In order to qualify for an Assurance with OHRP, the OHRP strongly recommends that Institutional Officials complete Module 1 of the Human Subjects Assurance Training (web-based) from OHRP Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov . IHS recommends that this training also be taken by Chief Executive Officers or Service Unit Directors of all IHS facilities where human research is being conducted. IHS IRB Chairs and administrators are expected to complete all three modules of this training.

Although CITI is strongly recommended for everyone involved in human participant research, investigators and key personnel working in IHS Areas other than Alaska may currently take any of the following web-based training programs:

  • Research Ethics Training Curricula from Family Health International (FHI) Any Media (slides, overheads, text or on-line, including IRB module)
  • Human Subjects Protection Training from NCI
  • VA Web-based Courses in Human Subjects Protection & etc. - Open to IHS

Applications to an IHS IRB (other than the Alaska Area IRB) must include certificates of completion from one of these (or an equivalent course) (or CITI) for all key personnel. Submissions to the Alaska Area IRB must include certificates from CITI.

Further web-based training in research ethics is available through a series of webcasts from a course given each year at NIH. The Bioethics Course webcasts from NIH Dept. of Clinical Bioethics Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  are extremely useful and highly recommended for IRB members, investigators and anyone else interested in the protection of human research participants. More information on this course can be obtained from the NIH Department of Clinical Bioethics, including course on Clinical Bioethics. Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov