Introduction
You are being asked to participate in a research study at OhioGuidestone’s Institute of Family & Community Impact called “Joyful Together Follow-up Study”. The word “you” in this document refers to a parent/guardian.
You are being asked to participate in this study because you and your child participated in the Joyful Play Babies and Children Study trying out OhioGuidestone’s Joyful Together® activities. You and your child participated as a parent-child pair and completed all of your study visits and activities.
Your participation in this study is voluntary and is not required to receive services from OhioGuidestone. Your current services will not be affected if you do or do not choose to participate. Please read the information below and ask questions to better understand this research study.
Purpose of the Study
OhioGuidestone wants to follow-up to learn more about parent-child pairs who had lower stress and improved relationships with their child when they were in the Joyful Play Babies and Children’s Study during 2017-2022. OhioGuidestone wants to look at participants records who are also OhioGuidestone clients to learn if Joyful Together® helped their treatment.
Learning how Joyful Together® affects parents and, or children’s treatment with their community mental health worker or therapist will help us understand how to use Joyful Together® with other families in the future.
We are still working to create and study a short evidence-based intervention (Joyful Together®) that will help children and parent/guardians to play more together. The intervention wants to help children experience joy at an early age in hopes of building strengths in children to help them face life’s stressors. Evidence-based interventions are a type of activity that uses research results to support and improve services.
Procedures
During the study we will collect information from you as well as your OhioGuidestone record about your health. If you, and/or your child is an OhioGuidestone client we will get information from your health record and your questionnaires. For which ever person in your parent-child pair is not an OhioGuidestone client, we will only get information from your questionnaires. If neither you or your child is an OhioGuidestone client, we will only get information from your questionnaires.
HOW LONG AM I IN THE STUDY?
Your participation in this follow-up study will be a one or two-time event at 6 months and 12 months after you finished your last study visit. If you are asked to participate in this follow-up study and it is beyond or more than 6 months from your last study visit you can still participate at the 12 month or beyond point.
You can do study activities on-line, on the phone or in-person or through a videoconference with study staff, or on-paper and return in the mail. It will take about 15-20 minutes to complete the study. (If you have more than one child who participated with you in the same study, you will complete separate paperwork and questionnaires for each child.)
WHAT AM I DOING IN THE STUDY?
You will fill out questionnaires (surveys) about your children and yourself as a parent/caregiver. There are five total questionnaires. Four questionnaires are the same that you filled out for the study last year; and two are new.
Questionnaires:
- Child Survey- survey about your child’s strengths and behavior
- Parent Stress Survey- questions about general life stress, and stress connected to being a parent
- (New) Family Survey- questions about strengths and needs and differences for your family
- Information Sheet- basic questions about you and your family, and your medical history
- (New) Joyful Together® Feedback- questions which Joyful Together® games your family uses
WHEN DO I COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRES?
You will complete questionnaires at 6 months and at 12 months (or longer) after you finished your last study visit.
You can complete the questionnaires online, over the phone or through a videoconference, or on paper.
- Online - If you want to complete the questionnaires Online, you will use a special number called an “Access Code” to log into a special page on our website.
- By Phone - study staff will do the questionnaires over the phone with you.
- In-Person Appointment - study staff will come and do the questionnaires in person with you.
- By Mail - you can do the questionnaires on paper and mail the forms in.
WHAT IS VIDEOCONFERENCING?
Videoconferencing is a face-to-face meeting over the internet using a device that has both video (see) and audio (hear). We will use a safe, and secure video conferencing platform like Zoom, or Lifesize. To participate in video conferencing sessions you will need a device that has a camera, audio (speakers), and can connect to the internet. Research staff will help connecting to video conferencing platforms.
Potential Risks
There are no known potential risks associated with participation.
Anticipated Benefits
You may or may not benefit from this study. Information learned from this research study may also benefit future children and families.
You will receive a $25.00 gift card for you and your family as a as a thank you gift for participating once all of your paperwork has been returned. If you have more than one child who participated with you in the same study, you will complete separate paperwork and questionnaires for each child- and receive a gift card for each parent-child pair.
Confidentiality
Your information will be kept confidential and only used for this research study. Only people working on this research study will have access to your study information. We will collect your demographic information, but a unique number instead of your name or other identifying information will be used on study documents. Your name or anything else that could identify you will not be included in reports, presentations or publications from this study. Your information will be kept in a locked file cabinet in a locked room, and computer files will only be opened on password protected computers. All documentation with identifying information will be destroyed once the study has ended.
Voluntary Participation and Withdrawal
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you choose not to participate, it will not affect your relationship with OhioGuidestone. You will still have the right to services that you are eligible for at OhioGuidestone. You will not be treated differently if you decide not to participate.
If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and stop at any time. You will not be treated any differently if you decide to withdraw from the study. If you withdraw from the study, you will still continue to receive mental health services at OhioGuidestone.
If you do participate in this study, your access to current and future services and client rights will not be changed or different. There is no cost to participate in this research study.
Contacts and Questions
If you have any questions about this study, you can contact the study team at: research@ohioguidestone.org or 440.260.8865.
If you have any questions about OhioGuidestone’s services, including client rights, you can contact the agency’s Client Advocate at 440.260.8308.
You may also ask your program staff any questions that you have now, or any part of the research study.
Signature of Research Subject
Informed consent to participate in research is very important. By signing or clicking below you agree:
- That you have read the information about this research study;
- You have been given the chance to answer questions and they have been answered;
- You volunteer to participate in the study and understand that you can withdraw from the study at any time.
A copy of this consent form will be provided to you.