Survey of Health Practices
Information Sheet


WHO WE ARE
Drew A. Anderson, Ph.D. (University at Albany- SUNY), Deb Burgard, Ph.D. (private practice), and Ellen Shuman (Acoria-WellCentered Eating Disorder Treatment Programs) are conducting this research.  It is being conducted under the auspices of the University at Albany- SUNY.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
We are conducting a study investigating long-term health practices.  We are interested in finding out more about the practices you engage in on a regular basis that you feel contribute to your health and well-being.  

WHAT WILL YOU HAVE TO DO?
To participate in this study, you will be asked to fill out some demographic information and answer some questions about the health practices in which you regularly engage.  This should take you less than an hour to complete.  

We are also interested in how you maintain or change your health practices over time, so we are asking you to provide contact information, including your name, address, phone number, and email address.  We would like to contact you every six months to one year over the next three years to see if you are interested in filling out the questionnaires again.

POSSIBLE RISKS AND BENEFITS
This study has few risks; however, some people may have some discomfort discussing health-related topics or disclosing health-related information.  While we cannot promise you any direct benefit from your participation in this study we hope that your information will help us to understand why people engage in health-related practices.

PARTICIPATION INFORMATION
Your participation in this research is completely voluntary.  You may choose to not answer any question(s) you do not wish to for any reason.  Also, you may discontinue your participation at any time without penalty.  We will keep your information confidential, which means that we will make every effort to ensure that we will protect your identity.  For example, the questionnaires will be kept in a secure area, and if the information from this research is used in any publication, you will not be identified.

This project has been approved by the University at Albany Institutional Review Board. Approval of this project only signifies that the procedures adequately protect the rights and welfare of the participants. Please note that absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed due to the limited protections of Internet access.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
If you would like to contact the investigators, you may do so via the following:
Dr. Anderson: (518) 442-4835 or [email protected]
Dr. Burgard: [email protected]
Ms. Shuman: [email protected]

If you have any questions concerning your rights as a research participant that have not been answered by the investigator or if you wish to report any concerns about the study, you may contact the Office of Research Compliance at 518-437-4569 or 800-365-9139, or  via email  at [email protected].

By clicking on the following link, you are agreeing that you understand all of the above.

CLICK HERE to go to the introduction