Participant Information
Please take some time to read this information carefully and decide whether you want to take part.
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Hello, I’m Joe - a trainee clinical psychologist at the University of Exeter.
My research is about how care workers for older people experienced upsetting events during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I have some personal insight into how challenging it can be to work in a residential care home for older people, and I was upset to hear about how things got more difficult during the pandemic. I’m doing this research because I want to give carers the opportunity to voice their experiences, with the hope that decision makers will learn lessons from the findings.
If you provided direct care to older people in a UK residential care home during the pandemic, I would like to invite you to participate in this project. But before you decide whether you would like to take part or not, I’d like to explain why the research is being done, and what is involved in participating. If you have any questions or the information you are reading is not clear to you, please contact me for more information on the email address below.
What is the purpose of the study?
I want to speak to social care workers to hear about their experiences of the pandemic, how it affected them, how they coped, and what could be done better to support care workers in the future.
Why have I been invited?
You’ve been invited because you are someone who worked in a UK residential care home, looking after older people, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Do I have to take part?
No, it’s your choice, participation is completely voluntary. If you decide to take part, you’ll be free to stop at any point, without giving a reason.
What will happen if I do take part?
There are two steps to this research: a questionnaire, and an interview.
I’m asking everyone to do the questionnaire, but only some people to do the interview.
Only those participants who do the interview will be paid.
The Questionnaire:- Everyone that takes part will be asked to fill in a confidential online questionnaire about their experiences during the pandemic.
- This can be done on a smartphone, laptop, computer or tablet and it should take about 5-10 minutes.
The Interview:- If you want to do the interview, you’ll be asked to provide your email address so that I can contact you about this.
- I can only invite a small number of people to be interviewed, I will choose these people based on their answers to the questionnaire.
- If I invite you to be interviewed, we will arrange a time and date that suits you.
- The interview will take place online or over the phone, so you’ll need a private space where you won’t be disturbed.
- The interview will take up to an hour, and it will be recorded, although the recording won’t be shared with anyone else.
- We will have some time together after we stop recording, to debrief and make sure you’re feeling ok.
Payment:- If I interview you, I will pay you £20 as a thank you for your participation and compensation for your time and efforts.
- I will pay you by electronic transfer directly into your bank account (called BACS).
- Please note that if you are receiving state benefits, receiving any form of payment may affect your benefit claim, and you may wish to seek expert advice from a benefits advisor or from Jobcentre Plus.
- You can choose not to be paid.
What are the possible disadvantages of taking part?
The study involves thinking about difficult experiences, which may bring up some unpleasant memories and feelings.
If this happens while you are completing the questionnaire, you can stop at any time. If this happens during the interview, we can pause or stop at any time. Afterwards, I will point you towards some organisations that can offer you support.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
You will have the opportunity to share your specific experiences, which will form part of a piece of research that will help raise awareness of the difficulties faced by care workers in the UK. If you are interviewed, you will be compensated for your time.
What if there is a problem?
If you are worried about any part of the research, please email me at jc1224@exeter.ac.uk
If you wish to make a complaint, please contact the independent chairperson of the University of Exeter Department of Psychology Research Ethics Committee, Dr. Nick Moberly n.j.moberly@exeter.ac.uk
Will my taking part be confidential?
- Yes.
- All of your personal information will be kept confidential, shared only within the research team. Your name will not be used in the research and all personally identifying information will be removed from the write-up.
- If you decide to share your email address, this will not be shared with others and will be deleted upon completion of the interviews.
- Confidentiality will only be broken in exceptional circumstances, if you were to disclose something that would make me worry for your safety or someone else’s.
What will happen with my data?
- All data will be password-protected and stored securely using OneDrive. Three people will have access to the data: myself and my two research supervisors.
- The audio recording of the interview, which may contain personal data if you have shared this during the interview, will be shared with a commercially available transcription service (Nvivo), for the purpose of transcribing the information you share during the interview. “Transcription” means creating a written record of what you said, from the audio recording of our interview. The Nvivo service will store the data in Europe, and it is compliant with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and The Data Protection Act (2018).
- If you do share any personal data during the interview, this will be removed from the transcript.
- If you are interviewed, your name and email address will be stored separately from interview recordings and transcripts.
- If you are interviewed, your name, email address and interview recordings will be deleted after the data has been transcribed and analysed. All other data, including transcriptions, will be deleted upon completion of the write-up.
What if I change my mind?
You can withdraw from the study at any time before the interview transcriptions have been anonymised.
If you decide to withdraw while completing the questionnaire, simply close the browser before submitting.
If you decide to withdraw after completing the questionnaire, please email me at jc1224@exeter.ac.uk
If you decide to withdraw during or soon after the interview, you will not be disadvantaged, interview recordings will be deleted and you will still be paid.
You will be unable to withdraw your interview transcription data after it has been anonymised.
If you withdraw, all of your personal data will be deleted as soon as possible.
What will happen to the results of the study?
The results of this study will be written up as a thesis dissertation as part of a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Exeter.
I am also aiming to publish this research in a peer-reviewed journal, so that other researchers, decision-makers and the public can learn from your experiences.
Who is organising and funding the research?
This research is being conducted as part of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology training. The research sponsor is the University of Exeter. No additional funding has been obtained for this research. The researchers will not obtain any payment for conducting this research.
Who has reviewed and approved the study?
This research has been reviewed and approved by the University of Exeter's School of Psychology Ethics Review Panel.
If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email.
Joe Clarke
Trainee Clinical Psychologist
University of Exeter
jc1224@exeter.ac.uk
School of Psychology
Washington Singer
Exeter
EX4 4QG
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