Angelo State University
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Consent to Participate in an IRB-Approved Research Event
Project Title: Physical Therapists and the Vicarious Resilience Scale (VRS): Measuring the positive effects of working with patients recovering from traumatic events
Investigator Name/Department: Libby Griswold, Kaci O’Bryant, Dr. Teresa Huckaby, Dr. Sterling Eckert
Investigator Phone: Teresa Huckaby: 325-942-2394
You are being asked to participate in a research event conducted with the approval of the Angelo State University Institutional Review Board (and if applicable, other relevant IRB committees). In order to participate, you are required to give your consent by reading and signing this document.
The investigator will explain to you in detail the purpose of the project, the procedures to be used, and the potential benefits and possible risks of participation. You may ask any questions you have at any time before the project begins. A basic explanation of the project is written below. Please read and, should you decide to participate, sign this form in the presence of the person who explained the project to you. Upon request, you will be given an unsigned copy of this form for your records.
Refusal to participate in this study will have no effect on any future services you may be entitled to from the University. Anyone who agrees to participate in this study is free to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. I understand also that it is not possible to identify all potential risks in a study, and I believe that reasonable safeguards have been taken to minimize both the known and potential but unknown risks.
1. Nature and Purpose of the Project
The purpose of this study is to investigate the positive effects that physical therapists experience from working with patients recovering from traumatic events (ex: MVA, stroke, assault, disabling event, etc). The term for these positive effects in this context is “vicarious resilience”. We aim to observe how clinic setting, years of experience, and trauma training impact vicarious resilience in physical therapists. The survey will consist of an online questionnaire distributed through known physical therapist contacts and email recruitment.
2. Explanation of Procedures.
You will be asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire. The questionnaire takes 15-20 minutes to complete. There are 33 questions total, 28 of which involve the Vicarious Resilience Scale, 3 questions ask about the PT’s background experience, and 2 questions are open ended questions. There will be no monetary compensation for participating in this study. Anonymous data from the questionnaire may be used for publication and presentation.
3. Discomfort and Risks.
Participating in this study does not require you to directly recall or reflect on the specific details of traumatic patient stories. The questionnaire focuses on the positive effects you have personally experienced through your work as a physical therapist. Nonetheless, you may inadvertently be reminded of distressing memories or emotions when completing this questionnaire. You may feel sad, anxious, or uncomfortable while reflecting on your experience of working with patients recovering from traumatic events.
Your participation is completely voluntary. By continuing with this questionnaire, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this disclaimer. You confirm that you are participating voluntarily and are aware of the potential risks and available support resources.
4. Benefits.
You may benefit from this study through reflecting on the positive changes you have undergone while working with patients recovering from traumatic events. Physical therapists and the physical therapy occupation as a whole may benefit from this study through shedding light on the topic of vicarious resilience in physical therapists in order to cultivate further development of vicarious resilience in this population. Additionally, this study may inform and inspire future research furthering the aforementioned goals.
5. Confidentiality.
Your confidentiality is important. Data will be accessible only to the researchers through a secure password-protected online data collection host, Psych Data. Data will be stored for a period of 3 years following the completion of the study, after which all data will be deleted. All data will be reported at the group level. IP addresses will be collected to sort duplicate entries, but names and other identifying information will NOT be collected for the purpose of this study. You may risk a loss of confidentiality if you choose to email the researchers to ask for results of the study. If you choose to email the researchers, then the researchers will immediately delete such emails after responding to them. There is a potential risk of loss of confidentiality in all email, downloading, and internet transactions.
Agreement: By clicking on the continue button below you are indicating that you have read the above procedures and that you are consenting to voluntarily participate in this study.
This project has been reviewed and approved by the Angelo State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human subjects in research and research related activities. IRB HUC120425
Any questions regarding the conduct of the project, questions pertaining to your rights as a research subject, or research-related injury should be brought to the attention of the IRB administrator, Dr. Cheryl Stenmark ([email protected]) TEL: (325) 486-6131. Any question about this specific research project should be brought to the attention of the investigator listed at the top of this form.
Click continue ONLY if you agree to participate.