QUICKLINKS Participant Information Sheets Contact Information WPSTUDY-L@USC.EDU
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Frequently Asked Questions Who is conducting this study? This study is a collaboration between Marientina Gotsis, MFA (School of Cinematic Arts), Thomas Valente, PhD (Keck School of Medicine), Maryalice Jordan-Marsh, PhD, RN (School of Social Work), and Donna Spruijt-Metz, PhD, MFA (Keck School of Medicine), and the Center for Work and Family Life at the University of Southern California. Support for this study is provided by grant #U-64448 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. What is the purpose of the study? Wellness Partners is a collaborative research project about exercise habits and perceived wellness focusing on middle adults and their social networks. How do I qualify for the study? You can participate in this study on your own if you meet the primary inclusion criteria or you may be invited by someone who has already joined the study. If you have been invited to study by someone else who is already enrolled, you must only meet the secondary inclusion criteria. Additional criteria not listed below must be met during the screening process. Please fill out a Consent for Contact Form and we will contact you to answer more questions. The screening process takes place over the phone. Primary inclusion criteria:
Secondary inclusion criteria:
I don't qualify to be a primary participant due to my age range. Why are you excluding people in my age range? This study is currently in pilot phase which means it is limited in scope and funding, therefore we have to restrict some criteria to increase the chances that our findings strongly apply to a subset of the population. In other words, we have to use a smaller group of people with similar characteristics to start before we can expand the study to include more people. If you do not qualify for this phase but wish to be contacted in the future, you may let us know during the screening. Will I be compensated? We can compensate the first six members of each study group. During screening you will be informed whether you are eligible for compensation and you can determine whether you wish to proceed with study. If you are eligible, as a token of our appreciation, you may receive a total of $45 :
* Surveys can be completed online and will be required of all participants. The first participant of each study group who qualifies and consents to the study is expected to meet the study staff three times (before week 1, during week 5, after week 10 of the study) and allow us to measure their weight and height. What do I have to do in the study? If you volunteer to participate in this study, we would ask you and your study partners to do the following things:
* A private room at the USC Center for Work and Family Life on UPC's University Village. Free parking is available. Where do I have to come for the height and weight measurements and how will this be arranged? The study coordinators will arrange a time and date for you to come to the address below. The process shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes. It is best if you haven't eaten before coming in. Free parking is available at the University Village lot without validation. No walk-ins can be accepted. We understand that some participants may be located at HSC or other USC locations but at this time we can only offer UPC appointments due to the pilot nature of the study. What types of activities will I be doing online? The program has two parts:
All participants have to complete both parts of the program. You will start the program with either Part A or B by chance and after the 5th week will be switched to the other part. What are the technical requirements for my computer or cell phone to use the Wellness Partners online application? The online application works best with Firefox 3.5 and higher, and Internet Explorer 7 and higher on a PC or Mac. PART A of the study requires Flash Player 9 or higher to be installed on your browser and will unlikely work properly on a cell phone web browser. PART B of the study has been tested on the iPhone and Opera mobile browsers. Since this study is a pilot, we look forward to reports and suggestions on a better mobile experience in the future using our software. Several Flash-enabled mobile handsets are expected in the market in 2010. How do I refer other people to the study? If you want other people to join your study group, you must
When you fill out the referral form, you are letting us know that the people you listed may be contacting us and that if they qualify, we may add them to you study group. We can't contact people unless they contact us first. We can't begin the process of adding someone to your study group unless you invite them. Your referral doesn't guarantee your invitee's participation. Your invitees must (a) be screened to determine whether they meet the participation criteria (b) must review the consent forms and (c) must complete an online survey before they can join you. If you are inviting minors between the ages of 12-17, their parents or legal guardians would have to fill out the Consent for Contact Form or contact us by emailing WPSTUDY-L@USC.EDU. Do I need to have a computer to participate? You don't have to own a computer, but you need to have daily access to the internet for at least 5 minutes. Do I need to have a cell phone to participate? You must own a cell phone, but you are not required to use it for the study. What types of questions are on the survey? |
