The University of Utah is conducting this research study to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected you, your stress levels, and your well-being. To help us with our research, we will ask you to answer questions about your mood, behavior, and health and make video and audio recordings that will be stored and analyzed in a secure, encrypted environment.

We sincerely appreciate your help. Participating in research as a “data donor” is one of the most powerful ways to make a difference in the lives of others. None of the medical treatments we have today would be possible without people like you generously donating their time to contribute to research.

Please take a moment to review the consent form for this study below.

Consent Form

You are being invited to take part in a research study to help us better understand the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it is having on physical and mental health. Before you decide if you'd like to participate, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve.

What is the purpose of this study?

Research has shown that maintaining social connections can improve our health, but the amount of social contact each person needs varies quite a bit. As we are all encouraged to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all experiencing changes to the way we socialize with others. We want to understand whether people's social needs are being met and understand how our social lives may influence our moods and behaviors.

Who can take part in the study?

You can participate if you are an adult aged 18 or over.

What should I expect?

We will ask you to answer questions, perform short tasks, and make short videos to learn more about you, your social relationships, your mood, and your behaviors. This study will involve secure, protected sharing of your responses using a free commercial software application developed by Storyline Health.

We would like to collect this data from you each month which should only take you around 10-15 minutes to complete. We would like to collect data for up to 12 months; however, your participation is entirely voluntary, and you can stop at any time.

What are the risks and benefits of participating in this study?

Benefits. There are no direct benefits for taking part in this study. We hope the information you provide as part of this study will help others by enabling new scientific discoveries that will help people lead healthier and happier lives.

Risks. You will be asked to complete questionnaires that ask personal questions about your mood and behavior. People sometimes respond to such questions with embarrassment, anxiety, or other uncomfortable feelings. To minimize the possibility of these uncomfortable feelings, you will be able to answer these questions in private and are able to skip any questions that make you feel uncomfortable.

A potential, but extremely unlikely, risk is a breach of confidentiality. Many steps have been taken by the research team to protect the confidentiality of all data . The most important of these is the use of the Storyline Health platform. Storyline Health ensures that the best technology available is protecting your data, ensuring privacy, informing you of how the data is being used, and enabling you to control your data. The Storyline Health participant interview platform meets all of the world's leading requirements for managing health care data, including HIPAA, GDPR and CAPP. The important details about your data confidentiality and security are the following:

Your personal information will be encrypted and protected with military grade security features for your safety. Your records and information are only linked to a study code. A list linking the code and other identifiable information will be kept separate from the research data and encrypted and protected with military grade security features in the Storyline data vault online. The fact that you participated in the research will also be protected and kept confidential.
No one outside of the research team will know what answers you have given to any question and the only individuals who will be able to view videos will be you the professional University of Utah and Storyline Health researchers involved in the study.
Your videos only exist within the ultra-secure Storyline Health system, where you have access and control over them. Your videos are not stored on your smartphone, tablet or personal computer, or on any other device that can be lost or stolen (such as a researcher laptop).
You are the owner of your data. You can access your data whenever you choose, delete your videos at any time, and can withdraw from the study at any time.

What if I have questions?

If you have any questions at any time about the study or the procedures you may contact the SMILe Lab at the University of Utah at (801) 587-8972 or by email at smile@utah.edu. You may also learn more about our research opportunities on our website at www.westudybrains.com.

Contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB) if you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant. Also, contact the IRB if you have questions, complaints, or concerns which you do not feel you can discuss with the investigator. The University of Utah IRB may be reached by phone at (801) 581-5655 or by email at irb@hsc.utah.edu.

Next steps

You may print a copy of this consent form for your records. Clicking on the "Agree" button below will take you to the survey and indicates that:

• You have read the above information
• You voluntarily agree to participate
• You are 18 years of age or older

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