PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET

Study title

What are pre-registration occupational therapy students' perceptions within the United Kingdom towards their role and preparedness in supporting their clients' concerns around sexuality and intimacy?

 

Invitation Paragraph

You are being asked to take part in a research study. Before you decide, it is important to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. If there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information, please contact me at 1907123@brunel.ac.uk. If you email me, your contact details will be visible to me, but I will not know if you complete a questionnaire as I do not ask for any identifiable information within the questionnaire itself.  Take time to decide whether or not you want to take part. Thank you for reading this.

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What is the purpose of the study?

Research has shown that lack of education and training can explain why occupational therapists might not broach sexuality and intimacy with clients. There has not been a study within the United Kingdom looking at pre-registration occupational therapy students' role and preparedness to support their clients with sexuality and intimacy. This study will explore this information through an anonymous online self -administered questionnaire shared via social media and is seeking to gain a geographical spread across the UK.

I plan to discuss the demographics of the students that responded to the online questionnaire while maintaining anonymity. I want to determine whether pre-registration occupational therapy students believe that sexuality is an occupation and analyse if sexuality and intimacy are addressed within pre-registration courses and practice placements. I also want to explore whether pre-registration occupational therapy students have sought further information about this subject beyond their course and practice placement. I plan to evaluate how comfortable pre-registration students feel to address sexuality and intimacy concerns with clients and make recommendations to pre-registration courses and practice placement educators depending on findings.

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Data collection will be open for three weeks inclusive from Monday 3rd May 00:00 until Sunday 23rd May 23:59.  

 

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Why have I been invited to participate?

The invitation to complete the online questionnaire is being shared on various social media platforms by myself as the researcher, occupational therapists and other students. You have been invited to participate as you are a current pre-registration occupational therapy student studying a BSc, PgDip or MSc within the UK.

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Do I have to take part?

As participation is entirely voluntary, it is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do choose to participate, you will be asked to complete a consent form at the beginning of the questionnaire. As this is an anonymous questionnaire, I will not be asking you to sign the consent form. Therefore, you will be unable to withdraw, once you have submitted your answers

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What will happen to me if I take part?

Once you click the button to start the survey, you will be asked to complete an anonymous consent form and then following this, the online questionnaire. The questionnaire is 25 questions long finishing on question 19a and takes between 10 and 25 minutes to complete. The invitation to complete the online questionnaire is being shared on various social media platforms by the researcher, occupational therapists and other students. Please share the advert with the link to the questionnaire via social media, so that other students can complete a questionnaire.

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Are there any lifestyle restrictions?

There are no lifestyle restrictions relevant to this study.

 

What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?

The subject matter is personal and sensitive, and therefore there could be a risk of psychological distress or discomfort.

The charity Mind has a variety of resources for anyone experiencing a mental health problem, including any concerns related to sexuality. They also provide information on other organisations and services that may be useful https://www.mind.org.uk/.

If you are a Brunel University student you can always ask for help from the Mental Health and wellbeing services https://students.brunel.ac.uk/support/mental-wellbeing-services.
 

What are the possible benefits of taking part?

There is no intended benefit to the participant taking part in this study

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What if something goes wrong?

If you are harmed by taking part in this research project, there are no special compensation arrangements. If you are harmed due to someone's negligence, then you may have grounds for legal action, but you may have to pay for it.

For complaints and questions about the conduct of the research, please contact Professor Christina Victor, Chair College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Research Ethics Committee Christina.victor@brunel.ac.uk.

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Will my taking part in this study be kept confidential?

All information which is collected about you during the research will be kept strictly confidential. With your permission data be stored and may be used in future research.  You can indicate whether or not you give permission for this by way of the Consent Form. The data will be stored for up to ten years.

The consent form is anonymous as I will not ask for your contact details.

Please do not include identifiable information within this questionnaire, for example, the name of a university or any organisation where you have completed a practice placement. If identifiable data is included, it will be anonymised.

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Will I be recorded, and how will the recording be used?

No recording will be made as part of this study

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What will happen to the results of the research study?

The research data will be analysed by the researcher before being reported. The results will be used primarily for a dissertation and may later be reported at a conference or in a scientific journal. The research data may also be shared with other researchers for further analysis, but at no point will any uniquely identifiable data be shared. If you take part in this research, you can obtain a summary of the findings or a copy of the publication if it is published by contacting the researcher.

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Who is organising and funding the research?

This research is not funded and is being organised by Kathryn Kelly in conjunction with Brunel University London.

 

What are the indemnity arrangements?

Brunel University London provides appropriate insurance cover for research which has received ethical approval.

 

Who has reviewed the study?

Ethical Approval has been received from the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Research Ethics Committee at Brunel University.

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Research Integrity

Brunel University London is committed to compliance with the Universities UK Research Integrity Concordat. You are entitled to expect the highest level of integrity from the researchers during the course of this research

 

Contact for further information and complaints

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For general information:

Researcher name: Kathryn Kelly 1907123@brunel.ac.uk

 

Supervisor name: Bai-Ou He Bai-Ou.He@brunel.ac.uk

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For complaints and questions about the conduct of the research:

Professor Christina Victor, Chair College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Research Ethics Committee Christina.Victor@brunel.ac.uk