Full Project Title: Resilience in veterinarians: stress, mental health, and mediating factors.Principal Researcher: A.Prof. Andrew Francis
Student Researcher: Isabelle Jamieson
Dear Participant,You are invited to participate in a scientific research study conducted by The Cairnmillar Institute. This Plain Language Information Statement describes the study in a straight-forward manner so that you can make a fully informed decision about whether you are going to participate. If you have any questions about the study, please contact one of the investigators. This project has been approved by the Cairnmillar Human Research Ethics Committee.Who is conducting this study?This study is being conducted by Isabelle Jamieson, as part of a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. She is being supervised by Dr. Andrew Francis, Associate Professor of the Cairnmillar Institute in the Discipline of Psychology.What is the project about?Research demonstrates that veterinary professionals both in Australia and internationally have a higher than average incidence of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, with a suicide rate of up to four times that of the general working population. As well as understanding risks, this study aims to identify factors that help people cope with stressful occupational, social, and psychological challenges. The main focus areas will be on psychological traits, help-seeking behaviours, and social support. A better understanding of individual coping styles and protective factors may help inform more comprehensive interventions. Why have you been approached?This project is focused on the experiences of adults aged 18 years and older in the veterinary profession. Any veterinary student or practitioner aged 18 years and above is invited to participate. You do not have to have experienced any past psychological issues or problems to participate in this study - we are interested in a broad understanding of veterinarians’ experiences. Up to 150 participants will be recruited.What will you be asked to do?Participation is entirely voluntary, and you may withdraw at any point up until the responses are submitted. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to fill out an online survey. It is expected that the survey will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. The survey contains a number of questions, including questions about your work, daily occupational stressors, your personal beliefs about yourself and your attitudes to seeking help, your experience of work- and client-related burnout, and your quality of life and wellbeing. The survey link is available at the end of this document.Are there any risks in participating?Completing the survey is not expected to pose any risks over and above what you experience in everyday life. If you are concerned about your mental health or wellbeing following the completion of the survey, you are encouraged to make use of the telephone counselling services of Lifeline (13 11 14), Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636), Vetlife Helpline (0303 040 2551), or the Australian Veterinary Association Telephone Counselling Service (1800 337 068). You can also contact your GP for a referral to a mental health professional. You may also contact the senior investigator, A.Prof. Andrew Francis, if you wish for referral to an independent Psychology clinic in your area. What are the benefits of participating?As this research project involves the completion of a survey only, we do not propose that you will receive any benefits from this project. However, some participants may benefit from reflecting on their own experience. This study aims to improve our understanding of how protective factors contribute to resilience among veterinarians. By participating, you are supporting the development of knowledge about how people cope with occupational stressors in the veterinary field, which in turn will contribute to effective interventions. This will inevitably improve the mental health and quality of life of those affected. What will happen to my information?All your responses will be anonymous and will remain confidential, and you may withdraw from the study at any time. Only the investigators involved with the study will have access to this information. No identifying information will be collected from you. Because of the nature of this data collection, we are not obtaining written informed consent from you. Instead, your consent will be inferred from your online submission of the completed survey. The results of the study will be disseminated in the investigating student’s Masters thesis, and potentially also in scientific journal articles or conference presentations. Only group data will be used in the analysis, and individual results will not be used or mentioned in any publication. In accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, all data will be securely kept for five years at Cairnmillar Institute, and then destroyed.More InformationFor more information about the project, you can contact the Principal Researcher Andrew Francis. If you have any issues or concerns regarding this project, please contact the Secretary of the HREC (contact details below). Thank you for your interest in this study. Your time and participation is greatly appreciated.Yours sincerely, A.Prof. Andrew FrancisPrincipal ResearcherThe Cairnmillar InstitutePhone: 9813 3400 Email: andrew.francis@cairnmillar.edu.auIsabelle JamiesonStudent ResearcherThis study has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee at The Cairnmillar Institute and will comply with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, 2007).If you would like further information regarding this study, if you have any concerns regarding this project, or you wish to withdraw your participation, please contact the research supervisor or myself at any time. If you have any complaints about any aspect of the project, the way it is being conducted or any questions about your rights as a research participant, then you may also contact the Secretary to the Human Research Ethics Committee. All contact details can be found below.Secretary to the HRECThe Cairnmillar Institute391/393 Tooronga Rd Hawthorn East VIC 3123Phone: 03 9813 3400Email: hrec@cairnmillar.edu.au