PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Project ID: 28921
Project title: Australian paramedic’s use and understanding of their professional code of conduct.
You are invited to take part in this study. Please read this Explanatory Statement in full before deciding whether or not to participate in this research. If you would like further information regarding any aspect of this project, you are encouraged to contact the researchers via the phone numbers or email addresses listed above.
What does the research involve?
This study aims to identify if Australian paramedics know their code exists, whether they understand the purpose of the code, whether they believe the code is useful to their practice, and whether they believe the code reflects the values of the paramedic profession.
In order to register your interest and allow us to screen for appropriate participants, you are being asked to partake in a short 5-minute survey. Following this, if selected for an interview you will be asked to participate in a one-on-one interview which is expected to take 45-60 minutes. This interview will be a semi-structured interview aiming to facilitate a conversation to better understand your perspectives of the Paramedicine Code of Conduct (interim) and how it influences your professional and ethical behaviour as a clinician.
Interviews will be conducted using video conferencing software Zoom and will be recorded for transcription. It is important you understand that due to the limitations of Zoom both audio and video are recorded during the interview. However, immediately after the interview, video recordings will be permanently deleted and only audio files will be retained.
Why were you chosen for this research?
As a registered Paramedic in Australia, understanding your perspectives and understanding of the Paramedicine Code of Conduct (interim) is important to explore the role the code has in guiding and regulating the paramedicine profession in Australia.
Consenting to participate in the project and withdrawing from the research:
Participation in this study is completely voluntary and you may withdraw your consent to participate, this includes during the interview. However, as interview data will be de-identified during the transcription, it may not be possible to have your data excluded if you wish to withdraw after the interview has taken place.
To consent to this study, you will need to read and consider the information on this explanatory statement and complete a consent form. If you do not wish to participate in this study simply do not provide any details on the “register my interest” form. If you have registered your interest and would like to withdraw, simply email the research team via the contact details provided and all information you have provided will be permanently deleted.
Possible benefits and risks to participants:
Direct benefits to you as a participant for participation in this study are limited to the ability for you to reflect on your own knowledge and experience with the Paramedicine Code of Conduct (interim) and the role it plays in your clinical practice. Beyond this, the wider benefits of this research are likely to be seen through a better understanding of the perspectives and knowledge of paramedics and their professional code. This may result in future consideration of this research during the development and revision of policy and professional codes within the paramedic profession.
It is perceived there will be a low risk for you as a participant of this study and that inconvenience of participating in the interviews will be the most foreseeable risk. There is a small potential risk to psychological wellbeing, however, in that you may recall difficult ethical dilemmas faced in your career during interviews which may cause discomfort.
Services on offer if adversely affected:
Should you feel distressed at any time please inform the interviewer who will terminate the interview immediately. Paramedics who participate are reminded that Ambulance Services in Australia provide 24/7 support services for employees should they feel distressed and require support. Alternatively, Beyond Blue is an Australian wide organisation that provides psychological support and referrals. Contact details for Beyond Blue are below.
Beyond Blue:
1300 22 4636
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support
Confidentiality:
As a participant in this study, your data will be treated in confidence. Any personal information you provide will only be available to direct members of the research team and all data will be stored on a password-protected server/ laptop only accessible by the research team. Contact details provided will not be shared with any third party and will only be used by the research team to invite participants to participate in an interview.
Audio recordings will be deidentified, before supplying recordings to a third-party transcribing agency to facilitate verbatim transcription of the interviews. Participants will be referred to as “Participant #1, Participant #2, etc” and no identifying information will be shared.
This study is intended to be distributed in way of a report which will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and/or shared at a relevant research conference. Again, this report will not contain any identifying information and participants will be referred to as “Participant #1, Participant #2, etc”. The only information that may be contained within the report is broad demographics such as the state you work in, if you work for a private or jurisdictional ambulance service, your age bracket and qualifications.
De-identified quotes will also be contained in the report and will again not contain identifiable information.
Storage of data:
As mentioned above, any personal information you provide will only be available to direct members of the research team and all data will be stored on a password-protected server/ laptop only accessible by the research team. Video recordings of the interviews will be immediately destroyed following the interviews as explained in the “what does the research involve?” section.
Please note that it is Monash University policy to keep all data a minimum of 5 years after completion of the project, after which any identifiable data will be destroyed.
Results:
This research project will be submitted in a publication format to Monash University for review by academics in the School of Primary and Allied Health Care. Following feedback from the university process, results will also be submitted for publication in a relevant peer-reviewed journal. The final report will also be available to participants who request access to this either during the interview stage or by email at any time.
Complaints:
Should you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of the project, you are welcome to contact the Executive Officer, Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC):
Executive Officer
Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC)
Room 111, Chancellery Building D,
26 Sports Walk, Clayton Campus
Research Office
Monash University VIC 3800
Tel: +61 3 9905 2052 Email: muhrec@monash.edu Fax: +61 3 9905 3831
Research Team Contact Details:
Honours Student:
Mr Derek Collings- Hughes
Department of Paramedicine
Monash University
Phone: +61 449 907293
Email: dcol0017@student.monash.edu
Research Supervisor:
Prof Brett Williams
Department of Paramedicine
Monash University
Phone: +61 3 9904 4283
Email: brett.williams@monash.edu
Research Supervisor:
Dr Ruth Townend
School of Biomedical Sciences
Charles Sturt University
Phone: +61 2 6338 4350
Email: rtownsend@csu.edu.au