- Information Sheet For RAs and Wardens/Deputy Wardens -
Thank you for showing an interest in this study. Please read this Information Sheet carefully before deciding whether or not to participate. If you decide to participate, we thank you. If you decide not to take part, there will be no disadvantage to you and we thank you for considering our request.
Overall Aim of the Project
The aim of this pilot project is to test the effectiveness of an online training program 'At Risk.' This program is designed to train Residential Assistants (RAs), Wardens and Deputy Wardens at Residential Colleges to recognize psychological distress in students, and support them by referring them to appropriate health services as required. RAs and Senior staff from all Residential Colleges and University Flats are being invited to take part in this study because they are well positioned to talk to struggling students in the first instance, and have expressed an interest and commitment to take part in the study. The results from this study may lead to including this online program in an adapted form as part of an overall programme of standard RA training at Residential Colleges. See Pilot Study Information.
Participation Criteria
Residential Assistants, Wardens and Deputy Wardens from participating Otago Residential Colleges and the University Flats are being invited to trial the online gate-keeper training program – 'At Risk' and take part in the online evaluation and well-being surveys.
Personal Information Required
The personal information that we require from you are your
· Name
· Email Address
· Age
· Gender
· Residential College – a unique code will be assigned for each College
· Position (RA, Warden, Deputy Warden)
· Ethnicity
Data Collection
The evaluation surveys we will invite you to complete are filled out online. Each participant will have a unique identification number that will be used instead of their name. Your contact details (e.g. name and email address) will be stored in a separate and secure database from your responses to the online program and evaluation and well-being surveys. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential. Only members of the research team will be able to access the responses you give to this study. All data will be securely stored in encrypted databases on the research team’s computers and the Injury Prevention Research Unit’s secure server. All paper copies related to this project will be securely stored in locked filing cabinets at the Injury Prevention Research Unit.
What is Being Asked of You
Initially, you will be invited to register for the study by reading the Information Sheet and filling out a Consent Form. On submitting this form, your will receive an automated email that will include an identification number which is unique to each participant, and is then to be used in place of your name for all the online assessments. A link in that email will open up the well-being questionnaire (which includes basic demographic questions), which then leads to a short questionnaire about your ability to talk to and refer people to Health Services. These should take about 20 minutes altogether.
In advance, half of the total number of Colleges that take part in this study will be assigned by chance to receive access via a URL link to the 'At Risk' online training program, which takes about 45 minutes to complete. The remaining half of the Colleges that elect to take part in the study (control group) will not receive access to the online training program until after the study is complete. In the meantime, participants will all have access to the resources on well-being on the study website.
Additionally, of the Colleges that receive access to the online training program, half will be assigned by chance to a formal debriefing session (about an hour) that is facilitated by the respective College Wardens/Deputy Wardens in collaboration with a health professional, to help RAs consolidate the skills they have learned via the online training program. The remaining half of the Colleges with RAs who complete the online training program will not receive the formal debriefing session.
In about 4 weeks, and again in 2 months’ time, you will be again invited to fill out online questionnaires, which ask similar questions to previously (each session will take about 20 minutes to complete). Your responses will help us to find out how effective the online training program has been in the short and medium term in terms of improving student well-being at Residential Colleges.
As a token of appreciation for taking part in this study, the study identification numbers of all RA participants who complete all of the assigned online assessments and training program (as appropriate) will be entered in a raffle to win an iPad.
Withdrawal
Participation in this project is entirely voluntary. You are also free to withdraw from the study during the course of the study without consequences.
Questions
There are not expected to be any known risks to yourself associated with completing the online program and the online evaluation surveys. However, if at any time should you become concerned about the well-being of yourself or someone you know, we suggest that you discuss your concerns with the Warden or Deputy Warden at your Residential College and with their support, contact Student Health Services on Campus (Freephone 0800 479 821; Tel 64 3 479 8212; Email student-health@otago.ac.nz).
If you have any questions or concerns about the Study that you would like to raise now or in the future, please feel free to contact the principal investigator for this study, Dr Shyamala Nada-Raja, phone 479 8518, email shyamala.nada-raja@otago.ac.nz
*This study has been approved by the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee (reference number 12/053. If you have any concerns about the ethical conduct of the research you may contact the Committee through the Human Ethics Committee Administrator (Tel 03 479 8256). Any issues you raise will be treated in confidence and investigated and you will be informed of the outcome.
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