Informed Consent Agreement

RESEARCH PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM 

 

TITLE:     Safeguard Workgroup 3: General Education for Veteran Suicide Prevention 

 

PROTOCOL NO.:     N/A 

 

 

SPONSOR:     U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

 

INVESTIGATOR:     William Scarbrough, Ph.D. 

5550 Sterrett Pl. STE 204 

Columbia, MD 21044 

 

STUDY-RELATED 

PHONE NUMBER(S):     (803) 600-6704 

[email protected]

 

 

RESEARCH CONSENT SUMMARY 

You are being asked for your consent to take part in a research study. This document provides a concise summary of this research. It describes the key information that we believe most people need to decide whether to take part in this research. Later sections of this document will provide all relevant details. 

 

Your participation in this study is voluntary. You may decide not to participate, or you may leave the study at any time. Your decision will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. 

 

If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, or think this research has hurt you, talk to the research team at the phone number(s) listed in this document. 

 

How long will I be in this research? 

We expect that your taking part in this research will last approximately 4 months. 

 

Why is this research being done? 

The Safeguard WG3 General Education Pilot is a one-year evaluation of a bundled suicide-prevention training ecosystem deployed across six community pilot sites. The initiative aims to strengthen community readiness to identify, engage, and support Veterans at risk for suicide—particularly those not currently connected to VA care. The project delivers 19 asynchronous e-learning modules tailored to five audience pathways: Community Connectors, Trusted Companions, Clinical Partners, Crisis Responders, and Community Healers. 

 

What happens to me if I agree to take part in this research? 

If you decide to take part in this research study, the general procedures include registering for an online training course, completing the training course, and then conducting four follow up surveys. One survey is immediately following the training, then there will be follow-ups at 30, 60, and 90 days. Immediately following the training, you will be prompted to take a survey within the training platform. Follow-up surveys at 30, 60, and 90 days will be emailed to you. The learning management system will also collect data from you, including your completion status, time spent on modules, and clicks on resource links.

  

Could being in this research hurt me? 

This study involves minimal risk. Trainings include topics that may be upsetting to some, such as suicide. It is recognized that some participants may be Veterans or affiliated with Veterans themselves, thus participation may elicit negative emotions surrounding Veteran suicide. We also recognize that some participants may have experienced suicidal ideation themselves or have loved ones that have dies by suicide.

 
LiveChat/Help Desk – This platform will function as the learner support live chat and ticketing system to ensure learners have a way to communicate any technical issues or requests for support. (Security Information)  

  • Data centers, provided by Softlayer, are located in Texas, US. They are behind a number of security clearances, and there’s always a security guard on duty. Services provided by Softlayer are in compliance with the SSAE16 standard.  
  • LiveChat will be available Monday-Friday 10-6pm EST. HelpDesk Ticketing will be available 24/7 with automated chatbot responses for those seeking basic technical support and providing the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline information for any messages that may indicate a crisis.   

 

Will being in this research benefit me? 

Trainings may provide you with additional knowledge on the topics of the courses you take, which may in turn better equip them to interact with the Veterans in their lives. Some of those participating will be able to use this training as a continuing education credit. You may experience positive feelings toward contributing to research aimed at decreasing Veteran suicide and knowing that information learned in the course of this research may help others. It is not expected that you will personally benefit from this research. 

 

What else should I know about this research? 

Your information collected as part of the research, even if identifiers are removed, will not be used, or distributed for future research studies. 



What other choices do I have besides taking part in this research? 

This research is not designed to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease. Your alternative is to not take part in the research. 

 

What happens to the information collected for this research? 

Your private information may be shared with individuals and organizations that conduct or watch over this research, including: 

 

  • The research team 
  • The research sponsor (U.S Department of Veterans Affairs) 
  • People who work with the research sponsor 
  • Health Media Lab (HML), the Institutional Review Board (IRB) that reviewed this research 

 

We may publish the results of this research. However, we will keep your name and other identifying information confidential. 

We protect your information from disclosure to others to the extent required by law. We cannot promise complete secrecy. 

When we write about or share the results from the study, we will write about the combined information. We will keep your name and other identifying information private.  

We will make every effort to prevent anyone who is not on the research team from knowing that you gave us information, or what that information is.  

You should know that in some cases we may have to show your information to other people. 

For example, the law may require or permit us to share your information with:  

  • authorities, such as child or adult protective services, if you report information about a child or elder being abused;  
  • authorities or a mental health professional if you pose a danger to yourself or someone else (e.g. suicidal thoughts). 

 

By checking the “I agree to take part in this evaluation” box on the Thinkific platform and completing the research activities, you consent to take part in this research.