Public health messaging during the COVID pandemic: Participant information sheet
You are being invited to take part in an online survey, which is part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) research project. Before you decide whether to take part, it is important to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. This means that if you give your consent to participate, it will be what is called informed consent.
Please take time to read the following information carefully before you decide whether you wish to take part. You are welcome to discuss this project with others and with the project team contact before you make your decision.
What is the research about?
We have been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council to study the experiences of men who have sex with men during the pandemic in the United Kingdom. Our focus is on uses of dating and hook up apps, sexual activity and how and how this has changed during the pandemic as restrictions such as social distancing and lockdowns have been introduced. To achieve this, we are conducting this online survey for Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM).
We are conducting this research with a view to help improve policy and practice around MSM sexual wellbeing and public health messaging, shed light on what to look for where MSM are concerned, and provide learning about COVID public health messaging that will benefit MSM and the general population.
Why have I been asked to participate in this online survey?
We have approached you because you self-identify as a man who has sex with men. Please only complete this survey identify with the group ‘men who have sex with men’ and live in the UK.
Do I have to take part?
No. It is up to you to decide whether to take part in the online survey. You can also stop filling in the survey at any point during the process if you wish simply by shutting your browser.
What does participation in the research involve?
Participation involves filling in the online survey. There are compulsory questions, meaning you cannot continue filling in the survey unless you provide an answer to these. There are also ‘open’ questions you can choose to answer, mainly to elaborate your response. Remember you can stop filling in the survey at any point, simply by shutting your browser.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
We do not envisage any serious disadvantages or risks related to taking part in this study. However, you may wish to discuss sensitive issues which may upset you. The research team are aware of this possibility and if a sensitive issue arises, you can find information about organisations offering appropriate services available to you for further support. Please find these on the Support and Resources page of our project website (on which this Participant Information Sheet is hosted)
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
We cannot promise the project will help you personally, but our aim is that the findings will help to understand how MSM are living through the coronavirus pandemic.
What will happen to the information I provide?
The information that you provide us through the online survey will remain anonymous. This means we cannot identify you as an individual from your survey responses. We also do not make a record of your IP address. The data from the online survey will be uploaded onto a secure server at the University of Salford via password protected hardware and software. Only the research team (including those at Birmingham City University, and at Kings College London) will have access to the anonymised data.
When the project finishes in December 2021, the anonymous data may be hosted in a data depositary such as the UK Data Service. The information that you and other survey participants provide us will be used to write reports for our funders and others, and articles published in academic journals. We will be posting details of results on the project website in various formats. No identifiable information about you as an individual will be included in anything that is posted or published.
What if you decide to withdraw from the research?
Please note it is not possible to withdraw your survey responses once you have submitted them. You should consider this before ticking the box which says you are “happy to fill in this survey” and again before you complete the survey.
Contact details for the research team:
If you have any questions or wish to discuss anything further you can contact Professor Ben Light using the following details:
Email – b.light@salford.ac.uk
Following this, if you have issues or a complaint, you should contact the Chair of the Ethics Panel Professor Andrew Clark using the following details:
Email – a.clark@salford.ac.uk
Thank you
We would like to thank you for taking the time to read this participant information sheet.
