Air Quality Communication Study information sheet for Participants.
In case you missed it in the sign-up process, here is the full information sheet for users in the Air Quality Communicative Study running through August.
INFORMATION SHEET FOR PARTICIPANTS
Ethics Committee Reference Number: LRS-16/17-4286.
Title of study: Improving health communication given with air quality alerts
Hi, my name is Donatella DâAntoni from the Kingâs College London. I would like to invite you to participate in this research project which forms part of my PhD research. Before you decide whether you want to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what your participation will involve. Please take the time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Ask me if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.
What is the purpose of the study?
The aim of this project is to investigate how to improve the way we communicate health advice using air quality alert systems during days of poor air quality.
In particular, we would like to test if the wording of an alternative format of the health advice given through air quality alerts has an effect on what people think about air pollution and the health advice received.
Why have I been invited to take part?
I am inviting members of the general public living or working in Greater London, in the adult age range (18 years or older), who are fluent in English, and are registered as users of the CityAir smartphone App.
What will happen to me if I take part?
If you are interested in taking part you will be sent a link to an online survey. Once you have agreed to continue to the survey, you will be presented with a hypothetical air pollution scenario and then asked to complete a questionnaire online.
Once you have completed this baseline questionnaire, you will be randomly allocated to either a control group or an intervention group. Participants in the control group will received air quality alerts as usual, whilst participants in the intervention group will receive air quality alerts in an alternative format. Which version of the health advice associated with the air alert you are given will be determined by random. The two versions of the health advice contain equivalent information, but presented with small changes to the wording in certain parts of them. The intervention group will also receive an additional health message either everyday or every other day, for 3 weeks.
During the study period, which will be 4 weeks in duration, participants in both groups will be asked to complete a short questionnaire each time they receive an air alert when there is poor air quality i.e. during days of moderate, high and very high air pollution levels (we are not expecting many days of poor air quality during the study period). Comparing the answers of these groups should help understand which communication strategy is the most effective during air pollution episodes.
To summarise, your overall participation will take 4 weeks, during which you will be asked to complete a baseline questionnaire at the beginning of the study (completion time: approximately 5 minutes), and another at the end (completion time: approximately 10 minutes). In addition, every time a real air alert is issued we will ask you to complete another short questionnaire (completion time: 3 minutes).
Participation is entirely voluntary. Completing the first questionnaire online will indicate your consent to participate. Please note that, while you can withdraw from the study at any time, once you have submitted your answers, you cannot withdraw the data you have already given us.
Everyone who completes the study has the opportunity to enter a prize draw for 1 of 40 ÂŁ50.00 worth vouchers. You can enter online at the end of the last online questionnaire. The draw will be made once we have completed data collection, anticipated to be approximately in October 2017. If you would like to be included in the prize draw please complete the appropriate form for this. In order to check that only participants in the research enter the prize draw, we will ask for your
personal code on this form. In order to contact you if you are the prize draw winner we will also ask for your email address on this form. This information will be stored separately from the survey data, in a separate electronic folder and destroyed after the prize draw has been made and all prizes distributed.
If you use an email address that includes your name, then this potentially removes your anonymity. If this is of concern then we suggest that you create a new email address that does not identify you using one of the online services (e.g., gmail, hotmail) and use this new email address for this research.
What are the possible benefits and risks of taking part?
There are no known direct benefits to you in taking part. However, the results will be used by Public Health England and potentially local authorities to inform choice of communication strategies regarding health advice provided during air pollution episodes.
We believe there are no known risks associated with this research study.
It is worth noting that although we know the broad categories of those groups of individuals who are susceptible to air pollution (e.g. individuals with lung and/or heart problems), not everyone within those groups will necessarily experience adverse responses to air pollution. Therefore, we may be encouraging people to change their behaviour when they do not strictly need to do so. However, even for those who do not experience obvious symptoms due to air pollution, reducing exposure to air pollution might still offer health benefits in the long-term. This applies also to the existing health messages used in the official UK Air Quality Index (AQI). We have no reason to believe that this may lead to any discomfort. However, if you have any concerns please contact Donatella DâAntoni (see below).
Will my taking part be kept confidential?
The questionnaires are anonymous. We will be using the data from participants in aggregate. The responses of individual participants cannot be identified, and any reports or publications from this research will provide only broad descriptions of the sample, for example, noting the age, gender, and health status.
Data Storage, Retention, Destruction and Future Use
No data will be accessed by anyone other than the research team. Anonymity of the material will be protected by using anonymous participant ID numbers. Electronic files containing confidential data will be password-protected and deleted after data collection, and entry are complete.
How is the project being funded?
The NIHR Health Protection Research Unit is funding this research. For further information visit: epr.hpru.nihr.ac.uk
The study has been approved by the BDM Research Ethics Panel at Kingâs College London on the 2nd March 2017 [ref: LRS-16/17-4286].
What will happen to the results of the study?
A report of the main findings will be made available to you if you request it. I also plan to disseminate the research findings through journal publications and conferences.
Who should I contact for further information?
If you have any questions or require more information about this study, please contact me using the following contact details:
Donatella DâAntoni FWB 5.63
Clinical Practice & Medication Use Group Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences King's College London
150 Stamford Street London
What if I have further questions, or if something goes wrong?
If this study has harmed you in any way or if you wish to make a complaint about the conduct of the study you can contact King's College London using the details below for further advice and information:
Institute of Pharmaceutical Science King's College London
150 Stamford Street London
Institute of Pharmaceutical Science King's College London
150 Stamford Street London
Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering taking part in this research.
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