Project Title:   HEALTH BEHAVIOR AND STATUS  OF POPULATION IN WESTERN VISAYAS DURING COVID-19 AND ENHANCED/GENERAL COMMUNITY QUARANTINE


Dear Participant,


You are invited to take part in this survey for the study focusing on the health behaviour of Locally Stranded Indiviuals/Returning Overseas Filipino Workers (LSI/ROFW) during COVID-19 pandemic and E/MECQ/GCQ/MGCQ period.  This study is part of a bigger research project titled, Health Behaviour of the Population in Western Visayas during COVID-19 and Enhanced/General Community Quarantine, conducted by a group of researchers from the Western Visayas Health Research and Development Consortium (WVHRDC).  The aim is to help improve initiatives taken in response to COVID-19 pandemic and to inform future actions to similar threats or disruptions in Western Visayas.  

This study will involve answering a 20-25 minutes survey, which will be asking questions relating to COVID-19 and the E/MECQ/GCQ/MGCQ period.  Please do not start until you will have enough time to complete it in one go.  

Please read this Explanatory Statement in full before deciding whether or not to participate in this research. If you would like further information regarding any aspect of this project, you are encouraged to contact the project leader, Dr. Alice Joan G. Ferrer via the email address agferrer@upv.edu.ph, or the Western Visayas Health Research and Development Consortium in this number 09502067410 (Mobile); (033) 320-0907 loc 103 (landline); (033) 320-0908.

By taking part, you are agreeing that you have read and understood the information about the study below. Please ensure you have read and understood this information before continuing

What does the research project involve?

The project aims to gain insights into the behaviour of the population in Western Visayas during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and the quarantine period starting mid-March to present.   The project involves a study of the general public and specific population groups.  These subgroups are the medical frontliners (in hospitals and in local governments units), social welfare and development staff, senior citizens, persons-with-disability, pregnant mothers, people with pre-existing conditions, service employees who reported to offices during the quarantine period, students, parents, teachers, couples in family planning, and the locally-stranded individuals and repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers). Specifically, the project aims to gain insights into the risk perception, knowledge, sources of information, infection prevention and control measures, causes of worry/stress/anxiety, coping strategies, attitudes toward the pandemic response initiatives, physical health status, and health care utilization behaviour.  

Participation in this study is completely voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time with no penalty, prior to submission of questionnaires. Once you have submitted the questionnaires to us, it will not be possible to withdraw your data, due to the anonymous nature of data collection.

Who are we looking for?

As mentioned, each study in this project has a target group participant.  The common characteristics of all the participants in the study is they are at least 18 years old and resident of Western Visayas.

What are the benefits and risks of taking part?

This project will be potentially beneficial for the Western Visayas region by gaining an insight into the behavior of the population during the E/MECQ/GCQ/MGCQ period, and will be useful in providing information to improve initiatives to ongoing threat of COVID-19 and also to future similar disruptions.  These can reduce the current and future potential health consequence and to guide future responses to similar threats and disruptions.

At the individual level, the study participant may benefit from taking part in the survey by being motivated to know more about COVID-19, the survey serving as a safety valve, and to know how the population in the region fared during the period.  

There are no foreseeable risks for study participants when taking part in the survey other than time spent on the survey and potential discomfort. Should you feel uncomfortable and want to leave the study you are free to do so without any consequences.

What questions will be asked in the survey?  

The survey will ask questions about yourself; risk perception, knowledge, and sources of information related to COVID-19, prevention behavior, own fears and worries, coping strategies, attitudes toward the pandemic response initiatives, physical health status, and health care utilization behaviour.  Some of these questions are considered sensitive data. However, All data will be de-identified and in no way personally identifiable.  Your data will be completely anonymous, and it will not be possible to identify you individually from your answers.

What will happen to the data provided?

Data will be stored on password protected shared drives accessed only by the research team.  Access to this system is highly restricted and monitored for compliance.  


How will the research results be made available?

The results will be put in a report to be submitted to the Western Visayas Health Research and Development Consortium.   There is a possibility that the research results may be reported at a meeting or conferences or similar forum, published in news or professional journals. In any case, the data will only be an overall summary of responses obtained from all participants involved in the study.   No data can personally identify any study participant.

How long will the survey data be stored for?

The data can still be useful even beyond threat of the COVID-19 to inform preparations for similar threats in the future.  The anonymous will therefore be stored securely for up to five years by the Western Visayas Health Research and Development Consortium and Dr. Alice Joan G. Ferrer, project leader after the end of the project in March 2021.  Before the lapse of five years, the data will be reviewed, and if they are still deemed to be of public interest, they may be retained for longer. If not, the data base will be permanently deleted.


CONSENT

I understand that:
• My participation in the research is completely voluntary.
• All my answers will be used for scientific research to improve actions taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic and to inform the response to similar future outbreaks in Western Visayas.
• The survey data collected will be securely stored and my answer will be completely anonymous.
• The survey data collected in this study will be shared in summary form with relevant researchers and government agencies.
• Given that I am submitting anonymous data, it will not be possible to withdraw my answers after they have been submitted.

Please note that you can stop the survey at any time. There are no consequences whatsoever if you do.
 
By ticking the box, you are agreeing that you are at least 18 years old, that you have read the information about the project and the particular study, and that you voluntarily agree to take part in it.