Longitudinal Food and Nutrition-related Health and Wellbeing Investigation in Secondary Teachers- Recruitment Survey

Participant Information

Longitudinal Food and Nutrition related Health and Wellbeing Investigation Secondary Teachers

Document version 1B dated 16.5.2023

You are invited to participate in this research project which is part of the PhD research for Ms. Tammie Jakstas at the University of Newcastle, supervised by Laureate Professor Clare Collins, Dr Vanessa Shrewsbury, Dr Andrew Miller, and Associate Professor Tamara Bucher.

Participants must be a current resident of Australia, 18 years of age or older, and have access to the internet. Participants must be currently employed as a classroom teacher in a secondary school in Australia, and willing to use their professional (school) email.

Participants whose responses to the recruitment questionnaire do not meet the eligibility requirements will not be admitted to the study.

In participating, you will be asked to complete one questionnaire at four time points across a 12-month period. This study aims to test the stability of a newly developed questionnaire to measure food and nutrition factors (such as your meal sharing practices at school and home, and intake of fruits and vegetables), and look at how these factors contribute to, or impact on measures of general health and personal wellbeing in teachers, across a full school year.

The questionnaire is estimated to take approximately 20 minutes to complete at each time, with an additional 5 minutes anticipated for 3 additional questions in the first questionnaire.

At each of the four study time points across the year, all participants will be placed in a random draw, with 10 participants, at each time selected to receive an online GiftPay voucher worth $150, in acknowledgment of their ongoing contribution to the study.

These vouchers will be sent out to the selected participants using the name and email address provided.

*Please note name and email address will be kept within the research team only for the purpose of sending out the questionnaire links at each of the four time points mentioned in the full participant information sheet and GiftPay vouchers to the selected participants. Beyond this, email addresses will be used to link participant responses to conduct longitudinal data analysis. No personal details will remain within questionnaire data, with all results de-identified before analysis.

The questionnaire can be stopped or interrupted at any time by clicking close and complete later. However, it is recommended that each questionnaire be completed in one sitting.

There are no anticipated risks associated with participating in this research. However, some of the questions may deal with potentially sensitive issues such as reporting on levels of professional burnout and stress as well as personal wellbeing. While these wellbeing measures are used widely in teacher populations, in the unlikely event that you find any of the questions upsetting, you can discontinue at any time. And where necessary you can also contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

The online questionnaire is completely confidential. Should you chose not to complete one of the four questionnaire time points, your response will be noted as a withdrawal from the study and you will not be contacted or sent any further survey links for future questionnaire time points remaining in the study.

Please read the Participant Information Sheet (PDF File) in its entirety and be sure you understand all the information provided before you agree to participate.

If there is anything you do not understand, or if you have questions, contact chief investigator clare.collins@newcastle.edu.au or student researcher tammie.jakstas@uon.edu.au

Completion and submission of this recruitment questionnaire will be taken as your implied consent to participate.

The research team

Tammie Jakstas (Student researcher) and Laureate Professor Clare Collins (Chief research investigator)

This project has been approved by The University of Newcastle College Human Ethics Advisory Panel, Approval No. H-2023-0120.

If you have concerns about your rights as a participant in this research, or if you have a complaint about the manner in which the research is conducted, you can contact the chief investigator Laureate Professor Clare Collins (02) 4921 5646 or send an email to clare.collins@newcastle.edu.au.

If you would prefer to contact someone independent of the research project, you can forward your concerns to Email: Human-ethics@newcastle.edu.au or call Phone: (02) 4921 6333