Informed Consent for Research
University of Southern California
Department of Psychology
3620 McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Study Title: Researching and Improving Psychotherapy Techniques in Interventions for DEpression (RIPTIDE)
Principal Investigator: Iony D. Ezawa, PhD
Department: Psychology
Introduction
We invite you to take part in a research study. Please take as much time as you need to read the consent form. You may want to discuss it with your family, friends, or your personal doctor. If you find any of the language difficult to understand, please ask questions. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form. A copy of the signed form will be provided to you for your records.
Key Information
The following is a short summary of this study to help you decide whether you should participate. More detailed information is listed later in this form.
- Being in this research study is voluntary-it is your choice.
- You are being asked to complete this survey because you have indicated interest in our study. This survey will help us understand whether you are eligible for the study.
- There are risks from participating in this study. The most common risks are psychological stress from answering questions about mental health and the potential for your symptoms to not improve or worsen. More detailed information about the risks of this study can be found under the "Risk and Discomfort" section.
- The possible benefits to you for taking part in this study may include improvements in your symptoms of depression, and you may learn new coping skills for managing your depression.
Your participation in this study may also help us learn more about how different types of therapy for depression work to help people, as well as which groups of people react better or worse to different therapies.
If you decide not to participate in this research, your other choices may include not participating and continuing with your current care.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify how different types of therapy for depression work to help people. You are being asked to complete this survey because you have indicated interest in our study. This survey will help us understand whether you are eligible for the study.
Procedures
Completing this screening survey should take approximately 5 minutes and only includes providing contact information and answering questions about your symptoms.
Risk and Discomforts
The risks associated with participation are minimal. Possible risks and discomforts you could experience during this study include: emotional discomfort answering questions about your symptoms. All efforts, within reason, will be made to keep your personal information in your research record confidential but total confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.
Surveys/Questionnaires/Interviews
Some of the questions may make you feel uneasy or embarrassed. You can choose to skip or stop answering any questions you don't want to.
Breach of Confidentiality
There is a small risk that people who are not connected with this study will learn your identity or your personal information.
Benefits
There are no direct benefits to you from taking part in this study. The information you provide during the screening process, with or without identifiers, will not be shared or distributed for future studies.
Privacy/Confidentiality
We will keep your records for this study confidential as far as permitted by law. However, if we are required to do so by law, we will disclose confidential information about you. Efforts will be made to limit the use and disclosure of your personal information, including research study and medical records, to people who are required to review this information. We may publish the information from this study in journals or present it at meetings. If we do, we will not use your name.
The University of Southern California's Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) may review your records.
Possible Future use of data and/or specimens
Your data will be maintained confidentially and may be shared with other researchers. The research may be about similar or unrelated topics to this study. Our goal is to make more research possible. We plan to keep your data and/or specimens indefinitely. If shared, data will be transferred securely. If you are not comfortable with this, you should not participate in this study.
Alternatives
An alternative would be to not participate in this survey.
Payments/Compensation
You will not be compensated for your participation in this survey.
Cost
There are no costs to you for taking part in this screening survey. There are no costs to you for taking part in this screening survey.
Injury
The University of Southern California does not provide any monetary compensation for injury. If you are injured as a direct result of research procedures, you will receive medical treatment; however, you or your insurance will be responsible for the cost.
Voluntary Participation
It is your choice whether to participate. If you choose to participate, you may change your mind and leave the study at any time. If you decide not to participate, or choose to end your participation in this study, you will not be penalized or lose any benefits that you are otherwise entitled to.
Contact Information
If you have questions, concerns, complaints, or think the research has hurt you, talk to the study investigator Iony D. Ezawa, PhD at depressiontxlab@usc.edu.
This research has been reviewed by the USC Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is a research review board that reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research participants. Contact the IRB if you have questions about your rights as a research participant or if you have complaints about the research. You may contact the IRB at (323) 442-0114 or by email at hrpp@usc.edu.