You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by researchers from the Department of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University led by Dr Niamh McNamara. This research is being conducted on behalf of Bodywhys, The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland and is funded by the National Office of Suicide Prevention.
What is this research about? We are interested in gathering feedback from people in the Republic of Ireland who care for a person living with an eating disorder who has sought treatment and support for an eating disorder within the last three years. This support can be from a GP, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Adult Community Mental Health Team, Private healthcare professional, or eating disorder support organisation. We hope to learn more about your experiences of health services and the treatment(s) offered to the person you care for. We are also interested in learning about you as an individual, including the social connections you have and your health and well-being (including the impact of the eating disorder on you and your family).
Why are you doing this research? We hope that by learning more about people’s experiences with health and support services that we will gain an insight into the best way of helping someone with an eating disorder. We will feed back the results to those involved in implementing the new Eating Disorder Services Model of Care. Our aim is that the findings will assist in the education and training of professionals delivering the new clinical pathways in Ireland.
What will happen if I decide to take part in the study? You will be invited to take part in an online survey which should take about 25 minutes to complete. You will be provided with a link which will take you to a consent form where you will be asked to click on a button to show that you understand what the study is about, that you agree to take part in the research, and that you are aged 18 years or older. Once you have done this, you will be taken to the survey. There are no right or wrong answers and you do not have to answer any question that you do not feel comfortable answering.
How will you protect my privacy? All the information collected will be anonymous and no one will know who you are. The survey data and results will be kept on a password protected computer and will only by accessed by members of the research team. The results may be published in the future but no one will be able to recognise you in any reports or publications. Anonymised data may be retained for up to 10 years in accordance with the Data Protection Act. These will only be accessible by the Principal Investigator (Dr Niamh McNamara).
What are the benefits/risks of taking part in the study? You will not receive a direct benefit from taking part in this study, however the results as a whole will be used to improve services for people who are living with an eating disorder and their carers. There are no known or anticipated risks of taking part in this study.
Can I change my mind at any stage and withdraw from the study? Taking part in this study is completely voluntary – you do not have to take part if you do not want to. You can also stop answering the survey questions at any time by closing the browser. Your decision to take part (or not) will not have any impact on any services or support you are currently receiving.
If you complete the survey and then decide you would like to withdraw your data, you can do so by contacting Dr Niamh McNamara at niamh.mcnamara@ntu.ac.uk and providing the code that you will create at the beginning of the survey. You will not be asked to explain why you want to withdraw. You can withdraw your data until 1st October 2019. If you would prefer not to email (as this will identify you to the researchers), you can send a letter to Dr Niamh McNamara at the address provided at the end of this information sheet. This letter should contain your code and a request for your data to be withdrawn from the study.
How will I find out what happens with this project? On completion of the project, a full summary of the results and associated recommendations will be available on the Bodywhys website or can be obtained from the research team on request (see contact details below).
Contact and further information
Please feel free to contact Dr Niamh McNamara on the following email address or phone number if you have any questions about this study:
Dr Niamh McNamara
Email: niamh.mcnamara@ntu.ac.uk
Tel.: 0044 (0)115 848 4346
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Nottingham Trent University
50 Shakespeare Street
Nottingham
NG1 4FQ
Thank you for helping with this research project.