RESEARCH
HUMAN SUBJECTS APPROVAL: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS (IRB)
All students and faculty must have both School of Nursing (SON) and University human subjects approval for their research projects regardless of where the project will be conducted. However, the method for obtaining that approval varies somewhat depending on where the project will be conducted.
Policies and regulations change on a regular basis; thus, working through the Center for Research and Scholarship (CFRS) will help you obtain the needed approval. Violation of IRB rules and policies can have serious consequences, including academic integrity actions and faculty censure. All students must have faculty approval of their IRB applications.
Investigators must submit their IRB applications to the CFRS within the SON, where it will first be reviewed for completeness prior to final approval signature of Dr. Shirley Moore, Associated Dean for Research. The CFRS will make necessary copies of the application. It is the responsibility of the investigator to deliver the IRB application to the appropriate IRB office. Assistance with delivery for University Hospitals and Case IRB may be requested of the CFRS staff.
Plan for the IRB approval process to take approximately 8 to 12 weeks from the time of initial submission.
Case has five IRBs that can provide Case “University” approval. Approval from any one of these five IRBs constitutes Case approval. The five sites are: Case, University Hospitals of Cleveland, MetroHealth Medical Center, Veteran’s Administration Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The guidelines and applications for the Case IRBs are at:
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Case (Behavioral) IRB
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University Hospitals IRB (UH Main Campus)
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MetroHealth Medical Center IRB
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Veteran's Administration Hospital IRB
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Cleveland Clinic Foundation (see below)
At this time, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation does not have forms available online. To obtain the forms, please call 216/444-2924 or email irb@ccf.org. Also, the MetroHealth Medical Center has an electronic submission process. Thus, the application will need to be printed and submitted to the CFRS for SON approval prior to final submission to MetroHealth.