Informed Consent Form (Survey)
Title: Determinants of Access and Utilization of Health Care Services among African Immigrants in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Researcher(s): Ukeme Eka, Interdisciplinary PhD, Memorial University of Newfoundland, ueue08@mun.ca or 709-770-4807
Supervisor(s): Dr Eric Tenkorang, Department of Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, AA4054, St John’s, NL. A1C 5S7 Phone: 1-709-864-2503
You are invited to take part in a research project titled “Determinants of Access and Utilization of Health Care Services among African Immigrants in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.”
This form is part of the process of informed consent. It should give you the basic idea of what the research is about and what your participation will involve. It also describes your right to withdraw from the study. In order to decide whether you wish to participate in this research study, you should understand enough about its risks and benefits to be able to make an informed decision. This is the informed consent process. Take time to read this carefully and to understand the information given to you. Please contact the researcher, Ukeme Eka, if you have any questions about the study or would like more information before you consent.
It is entirely up to you to decide whether to take part in this research. If you choose not to take part in this research or if you decide to withdraw from the research once it has started, there will be no negative consequences for you, now or in the future.
Introduction:
My name Ukeme Eka, a PhD Candidate in the interdisciplinary program at Memorial University working under the supervision of Dr. Eric Tenkorang (Sociology, Memorial University). For my PhD dissertation, I am researching the reasons why African immigrants in St. John’s Area use or do not use health care services for dental care and mental health care. Thus, I hope to explore in detail your personal experiences to accessing and utilizing dental and mental health care in St. John’s, NL. I believe knowing your answer to these questions will contribute to highlighting the challenges immigrants encounter when accessing and utilizing dental and mental health care services.
Purpose of Study:
The primary aim of this proposed research is to advance the understanding of how African immigrants in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, access and utilize health care services, specifically mental health and dental care services.
What You Will Do in this Study:
This study involves participants completing an electronic survey about their knowledge, perception, health-seeking behaviours and experiences in utilizing dental and mental health care services in St. John’s, NL. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers to the questions. You also can skip any question you do not want to answer. To participate in this study, you have to be an African immigrant who migrated to Canada to live permanently, who is 19 years of age or older, was born in any of the countries on the continent of Africa and is residing in the St. John's Census Metropolitan Area as determined by Statistics Canada. Individuals under 19 years are excluded from this as Newfoundland and Labrador's age of legal consent is 19 years of age or older. Study exclusion criteria are African descendants born in Canada, as they are outside the scope of the study. Nonimmigrants will be excluded as their ethnicity is outside the scope of the research. Only African immigrants who speak, read, and understand English and/or French and/or significant African Languages (e.g., Arabic, Swahili) will be included. Translation services will be provided for participants that require communication in a language other than English (French, Arabic and Swahili).
Length of Time:
The length of time required to complete the survey will be approximately 60-90 minutes.
Withdrawal from the Study:
Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. Also, you can choose to end your participation at any time during the completion of your survey by closing your browser and cancelling entries without any explanation or consequences. Once you withdraw from the study, your data cannot be extracted or identified because data being collected is anonymized. Also, participation in this study is not required for any association serving African immigrants in St. John’s Metropolitan Area.
Possible Benefits:
There is no direct benefit to the participants of this study. However, the data generated from this study will be beneficial in lending a voice to some of your personal experiences that may be safely shared with a broader audience (i.e., African immigrants) for their benefit, while your identity is kept anonymous. Also, your participation in this research may contribute to the efforts being made by the government and relevant stakeholders to create an effective health care system that is culturally sensitive aimed at reducing some of the barriers to accessing care in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Possible Risks:
We will ask you questions about your knowledge, perception, health-seeking behaviours, and experiences accessing and utilizing dental and mental health care services in St. John’s, NL. Asking for your personal stories might be intrusive and may lead to recalling memories that may be psychologically and emotionally tasking (i.e., anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder). If you would like to access counselling services, you can contact the Mental Health Crisis Line:709-777-3200 or Toll-Free 1-1888-737-4668.While nothing you tell us will be shared with anyone other than the research supervisors, some questions may make you uncomfortable or you may not know the answer to a particular question. You are free to skip any question that you are not comfortable answering. Your participation in this study is voluntary. You can decline participation without any impact on your relationship with your association.
Confidentiality/Anonymity:
Your participation in this research is completely anonymous. No information you share can be traced electronically to you, the computer you used, nor can you be traced by any information you provide.
Use, Access, Ownership, and Storage of Data:
Anonymous survey data will be maintained in a password -protected computer for a minimum of 5 years and then destroyed as per Memorial University's policy on Integrity in Scholarly Research. Data will be kept stored in the on-line survey site’s databank. Data access uses and interpretation will be restricted to me, my supervisors.
Reporting of Results:
As stated above, your personal identifying information will not be used in written products related to the study. Your demographic information will only be reported in aggregate form. In addition to using data from this study to complete/write my dissertation for a PhD degree, findings from the data may also be used in whole or in part for presentations or written products related to the study, as well as publishing in a peer-reviewed journal and book chapters. Upon completion, my thesis will be available at Memorial University’s Queen Elizabeth II library and can be accessed online at: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/search/collection/theses
Sharing of Results with Participants:
The final thesis will be available at Memorial University’s Queen Elizabeth II library, and a link to access it will be sent to participants after the research study. Although findings for the project will be disseminated through conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals, we will also share the findings with you by granting interviews, preparing media releases and policy briefs on the topic for the various media houses.
Questions:
You are welcome to ask questions before, during, or after your participation in this research. If you would like more information about this study, please contact: Ukeme Eka at ueue08@mun.ca or by phone at 7097704807 or Dr. Eric Tenkorang at eytenkorang@mun.ca or by phone at 709-864-2503.
The proposal for this research has been reviewed by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research and found to be in compliance with Memorial University’s ethics policy. If you have ethical concerns about the research, such as the way you have been treated or your rights as a participant, you may contact the Chairperson of the ICEHR at icehr@mun.ca or by telephone at 709-864-2861.
Consent:
By completing this Questionnaire, you agree that:
- You have read the information about the research.
- You have been advised that you may ask questions about this study and receive answers prior to continuing.
- You are satisfied that any questions you had have been addressed.
- You understand what the study is about and what you will be doing.
- You understand that you are free to withdraw participation from the study by closing your browser window or navigating away from this page, without having to give a reason and that doing so will not affect you now or in the future.
Regarding withdrawal after data collection
- You understand that this data is being collected anonymously and therefore your data cannot be removed once you submit this survey.
By consenting to this online survey, you do not give up your legal rights and do not release the researchers from their professional responsibilities.
Please retain a copy of this consent information for your records.
Clicking the button below and submitting this survey constitutes consent and implies your agreement to the above statements.