Accessibility toolbar

APPENDIX A: The prevalence of diabetes related distress, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among adult Saudi students with diabetes studying at UK Universities.

Participant Information Sheet:

Study Title:

The prevalence of diabetes-related distress, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among adult Saudi students with diabetes studying at UK universities

You are being invited to take part in the above research study. To help you decide whether you would like to take part or not, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please read the information below carefully and ask questions if anything is not clear or you would like more information before you decide to take part in this research.  You may like to discuss it with others, but it is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. It is an online questionnaire, and by clicking the box, it indicates your agreement to take part in the study.

What is the research about?

It is a postgraduate project. It will assess the prevalence of distress, depression, and quality of life among Saudi students with diabetes studying at United Kingdom Universities. In this survey, we will use a validated and reliable online self-reported questionnaire to measure distress, depression, and quality of life.

Why have I been asked to participate?

We estimated that ~500 individuals would be needed for the study. All individuals are Saudi students studying at UK Universities. You have been asked to take part because you are eligible according to our inclusion criteria.

What will happen to me if I take part?

You are just asked to complete an online questionnaire. It will take from 10-15 minutes to complete it. You will pay no expense. The survey will have some questions related to your feelings, emotional reactions, and impacts of diabetes on your life. No other intervention. Your answers and other participants will be kept secured. We will analyse data and end up with knowledge about this issue, which in turn could add a new approach in real practice to improve health outcomes.

Are there any benefits in my taking part?

Given our appreciation for your kind participation, there will not be many benefits for you, mainly. However, your participation in this study could help health professional to have a clear idea about the struggle of Saudi people with diabetes in the UK while self-managing their diabetes. It will add knowledge and facts about how Saudi students with diabetes abroad are in different challenges. This will lead to direct the focus toward such challenges and provide the support they need to optimise glycaemic control as well as health outcomes.

Are there any risks involved?

No risks involved. However, the participant could feel anxious or emotionally distressed. We will offer them support by encouraging them to see GP as soon as they feel not well. Besides, we will support them by contacting students services in the University, where they receive support from wellbeing team.

What data will be collected?

Sociodemographic information and self-reported questionnaire scores which explain the feelings and perception of people with diabetes towards their illness are data for collection. Data will be coded. The survey will be hosted on https://www.isurvey.soton.ac.uk/. This platform will ensure that the participants’ data will be held securely. Following the completion of the survey, anonymised data will be stored on a password-protected computer.

Will my participation be confidential?

Your participation and the information we collect about you during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential. Only members of the research team and responsible members of the University of Southampton may be given access to data about you for monitoring purposes and/or to carry out an audit of the study to ensure that the research is complying with applicable regulations. Individuals from regulatory authorities (people who check that we are carrying out the study correctly) may require access to your data. All of these people have a duty to keep your information, as a research participant, strictly confidential. As our survey is the online, platform that host this online survey ensures confidentiality all the way.

Do I have to take part?

No, it is entirely up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you decide you want to take part, you just open a web link sent to you and click a box to indicate you have agreed to take part.

What happens if I change my mind?

It is an anonymous online questionnaire, and withdrawal is not possible after submission.

What will happen to the results of the research?

Your personal details will remain strictly confidential. Research findings made available in any reports or publications will not include information that can directly identify you without your specific consent. No data will be reused for future study.

Where can I get more information?

 For any question related to study, do not hesitate to contact me on:

Mohammad Alharbi,

 mla1u18@soton.ac.uk

What happens if there is a problem?

If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, please speak to me as a researcher, and I  will do my best to answer your questions.

If you remain unhappy or have a complaint about any aspect of this study, please contact the University of Southampton Research Integrity and Governance Manager (023 8059 5058, rgoinfo@soton.ac.uk).

Data Protection Privacy Notice

The University of Southampton researches the highest standards of research integrity. As a publicly-funded organisation, the University has to ensure. It is in the public interest when we use personally-identifiable information about people who have agreed to take part in the research.  This means that when you decide to receive part in a research study, we will use information about you in the ways needed, and for the purposes specified, to conduct and complete the research project. Under data protection law, ‘Personal data’ means any information that relates to and is capable of identifying a living individual. The University’s data protection policy governing the use of personal data by the University can be found on its website (https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page).

This Participant Information Sheet tells you what data will be collected for this project and whether this includes any personal data. Please ask the research team if you have any questions or are unclear what data is being collected about you.

Our privacy notice for research participants provides more information on how the University of Southampton collects and uses your personal data when you take part in one of our research projects and can be found at http://www.southampton.ac.uk/assets/sharepoint/intranet/ls/Public/Research%20and%20Integrity%20Privacy%20Notice/Privacy%20Notice%20for%20Research%20Participants.pdf.

Any personal data we collect in this study will be used only to carry out our research and will be handled according to the University’s policies in line with data protection law. If any personal data is used from which you can be identified directly, it will not be disclosed to anyone else without your consent unless the University of Southampton is required by law to disclose it.

Data protection law requires us to have a valid legal reason (‘lawful basis’) to process and use your Personal data. The lawful basis for processing personal information in this research study is for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Personal data collected for research will not be used for any other purpose.

For the purposes of data protection law, the University of Southampton is the ‘Data Controller’ for this study, which means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The University of Southampton will keep identifiable information about you for ten years after the study has finished after which time any link between you and your information will be removed.

To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personal data necessary to achieve our research study objectives. Your data protection rights – such as to access, change, or transfer such information - may be limited, however, in order for the research output to be reliable and accurate. The University will not do anything with your personal data that you would not reasonably expect.

If you have any questions about how your personal data is used, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please consult the University’s data protection webpage (https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page) where you can make a request using our online form. If you need further assistance, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer (data.protection@soton.ac.uk).

isurvey.soton.ac.uk is our platform to process our data collection. It ensures that data will be held securely.

Data will be anonymised where all personal data will be deleted and no way to trace them back.

Thank you again for taking the time to read the information sheet and considering taking part in the research.