Information

Introduction and Information Statement (6.08 minutes)

Transcript

Invitation

You are invited to participate in this free survey being conducted by Bruce Thompson.

Purpose and Importance of this survey

Effective stress management is essential for maintaining a healthy brain into old age. Science indicates that uncontrolled stress damages the brain more severely than it does the heart and blood vessels. Consequently programs to prevent and treat brain diseases, such as dementia often include stress-control yoga and meditation.

Bruce is developing a treatment program for a study on early-stage dementia and finds that some older people, especially those who are Christians or attended church as children, are uncomfortable with the stress-control techniques used by most programs because they are based on eastern meditation.

This survey has two purposes. The first is to test a simple, Bible-based meditation technique, 'Meditating with Jesus'. The second purpose is to see if this technique decreases the amount of stress that participants feel.

As an exploratory survey, the results will not be published but will be used to decide whether to offer this technique to people with dementia in the full study.

Who is being invited to participate?

Adults, especially those over the age of 55 years.

What does participation involve?

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) three times over six months. The PSS asks you to indicate how much stress you have felt over the last month with 10 short questions.

You will also be taught 'Meditating with Jesus', asked to practice it daily, and asked to give brief feedback on your experience with the technique.

How much time will it take?

The survey will last six months, with measurements taken on three occasions:

1. When you join, you will be asked to complete the Perceived Stress Scale. Time: 5 minutes. After this you will be sent a link to a website where you will learn the 'Meditating with Jesus' technique (20-30 minutes).

2. After one month you will be asked to complete the second PSS and give some feedback on your experience. (10 minutes).

3. Six months after starting you will be asked to complete the PSS for the final time and to give some feedback on your experience with the 'Meditating with Jesus technique. Time: 10 minutes.

For those six months you will be asked to practice 'Meditating with Jesus' daily. This will take 10-15 minutes in the morning and a further 5-10 minutes in the evening.

Possible risks or inconveniences

There are no foreseen risks in this survey. Inconveniences include the time filling forms and 20 minutes daily doing the meditation. If you already have daily devotions, this time will be shorter.

Benefits

Meditating with Jesus may decrease your stress levels and increase your faith in Jesus' concern for you. Your input could benefit people with dementia who have a Christian faith.

Confidentiality, Anonymity and Disclosure of Information

Your personal data will be treated confidentially with only Bruce having access to it. Your contact details and any identifying information will be removed from the data used for analysis. Data will be kept in password protected storage with business grade security, compliant with ISO 27018 and HIPAA security standards.

After you have completed the final survey at six months, you will be sent your personal results. Then your name, email address and the continent you reside in, will be removed from the data, leaving only your age by decade, your gender, whether you believe in Jesus, and your scores.

Use of Information Collected

The information will be analysed but will not be formally published. When you complete the final survey, you will be given access to survey results up to that point. At the end of the survey the anonymous information will be made available as a csv file. Individual participants will not be able to be identified from from the survey results or the file.

Your contact details will only be used to send reminders, and to send you an individual report at the end of the survey.

A free daily email with a Bible reading is available and this will require that you sign up with your first name and email address. This information is kept secure and separate from the survey and will not be analysed at all.

Freedom of consent

Participation is voluntary, only people who have given their consent will be included in the survey. Even if you agree to participate, you may withdraw from the survey at any time, without giving a reason. If you desire, at the end of the six months, your results can be deleted and not included in the analysis.

To withdraw from the survey, simply ignore my reminder emails.

Please read and understand this information before you consent to participate.

If you have further questions please contact Bruce Thompson.

Download printable versions of the Information Statement (optional)

Consent to join the Meditation and Stress User-experience Survey

by Bruce Thompson

(contact me if you have questions)

By completing the first PSS survey:

• I agree to participate in the Meditation and Stress UX Survey and give my consent freely.
• I have read (or watched) and understand the Information Statement provided above.
• I understand that the survey will be conducted as described in the Information Statement.
• I have agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy of this website.
• I understand that I can withdraw at any time by ignoring Bruce’s reminder emails (four in total) and do not have to give any reason for withdrawing. I will not be disadvantaged in any way by withdrawing.
• The procedures required for the survey and the meditation, and the time involved, have been explained. If I have questions I can ask Bruce and will not join until the questions are answered to my satisfaction.
• I consent to learn the "Meditating with Jesus" technique and will endeavour to implement it each day for the six-month survey period.
• I understand that my personal information will remain confidential to Bruce Thompson.