LETTER OF INFORMATION AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH

Dear Teacher:

We are inviting you to participate in an evaluation being conducted by Keep Your Head Up Foundation (KYHU). 

INTRODUCTION

KYHU  is a registered charity offering community concussion education programs in the Waterloo Region. For the past three years we have provided education on concussions to over 1700 students in Grades 7 through 12. Your principal and you have invited us to provide an educational workshop on concussions for your students. The learning objectives of the workshop include:

• Recognizing common signs and symptoms of a concussion

• Describing some of the ways concussions can impact well-being

• Recognizing the community supports available to support concussion recovery

PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY

In order to improve the workshops, we are inviting teachers to be part of a study of the quality of the workshop. The study is called “Evaluation of Keep Your Head Up Classroom-Based Concussion Education Program”. 

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the information you require to make an informed decision on your participation in this research.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE ENROLLED AND HOW THIS STUDY WILL LAST

You will be one of 1-5 teachers in this school and 20 teachers in the Waterloo Region who will be asked to participate in this study. All the students participating in the workshop, at this school and others, will be invited to participate in the study.

For teachers, the study will be completed following the workshop. We estimate it will take about ten minutes of your time.

For students, the study will be completed in the classroom during regular class time. Overall, their portion of the study will take one class period - 50 minutes for the workshop and 10 minutes for a questionnaire. 

RESEARCH PROCEDURES FOR THIS STUDY

1. If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire about the quality of the workshop and whether or not it achieved its desired learning

2. objectives. You will receive a link to the questionnaire via email. By clicking submit on the questionnaire, you will agree to participate in the study.

3. The individual questionnaire responses will be shared with our external evaluator, Allison Meserve, for analysis. 

RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS TO YOU IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY

There are no known risks to your participation in the study.

THE BENEFITS TO YOU IF YOU TAKE PART IN THE STUDY

You will not get a personal benefit from participating in this study. Your participation may help us improve the workshop which may benefit future students who participate in the workshop. 

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may refuse to participate, refuse to answer any questions or withdraw from the study at any time with no effect to you or future support from KYHU. 

CONFIDENTIALITY

Your confidentiality will be respected. The information collected will be used for research purposes only and neither your name, nor information which could identify you will be used in any publication or presentation of the study results. 

PRIVACY AND SECURITY OF THE DATA

Electronic records of your responses will be kept indefinitely, in a secure location on the Keep Your Head Up electronic management system. These files are password protected. The questionnaires will only be accessible to Keep Your Head Up Foundation staff as well as our external evaluator.

IF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS NEEDED

If you have any questions about this study, please contact:

Allie Harrison 226-220-2471; allie@keepyourheadup.ca

Felicia Corrado 226-749-2234; felicia@keepyourheadup.ca

Allison Meserve 647-668-8624; meserve_a@yahoo.com

This research has been reviewed and approved by the WRDSB External Research Review Committee. If you have any questions about your rights as a research subject, you may contact: Julie Scott; julie_scott@wrdsb.ca

This letter is yours to keep for future reference.