Some groups of individuals may be considered vulnerable and require additional protections and rationale be in place to involve these groups in your study. Examples of vulnerable populations include students, employees of the researcher(s)/those with a status relationship with the researcher(s), and active-duty military members. Examples of additional protections that may be required include having someone outside the study team observe the informed consent process, exclusion of the population if not required to achieve study objectives, and independent assessment to address consent capacity.

For a full list of vulnerable populations and protective measures, see HRP 334 – WORKSHEET-Vulnerable Populations.