INFORMATION STATEMENT
Farming and Rural Employees Sleep Health (FRESH) Study Questionnaire
Introduction
You are invited to take part in a research study investigating sleep in Australian farmers. This project will explore sleep habits in farmers and the role that sleep plays in accident risk, physical and mental health.
What is the research about?
Agriculture is one of the riskiest industries in Australia. While there are many possible reasons for this, sleep may play an important role. The FRESH study will be the first, to our knowledge, to investigate sleep habits in Australian farmers.
This online survey will give us important information about the sleep problems affecting farmers, and how to best manage them. The study is about gathering information and looking for relationships between sleep and other factors such as the farm enterprise, location or work hours.
Where is the research carried out?
The study is being conducted at the John Hunter Hospital by Dr Gemma Paech and Dr Koliarne Tong in the Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine. The study is being supported by a research grant from the John Hunter Hospital charitable trust fund.
Who can take part in the research?
You can take part in this study if you work on a farm for more than 8 hours per week. Work can be any activity on the farm that you earn an income from, such as a salary or wage, or from selling commodities. You need to be over 18 years of age and have a good understanding of written English.
What choice do you have?
Taking part in this study is voluntary. You do not have to take part in it. If you do take part, you can withdraw at any time without having to give a reason. You can withdraw at any time before completing the survey by closing the survey in your web browser. The information you have already provided cannot be deleted. This is because we are not collecting any identifiable information from you. So, we will be unable to identify your information.
What will you do if you agree to take part?
If you agree to take part in this study, you will complete 29 questions. The questions will ask you to provide information about your farming workplace, sleep habits, general health, performance at work and general information like your age and gender. We expect that this will take between 20 and 30 minutes to do. You do not need to complete the survey all in one sitting. You will have the option to save your results and come back to the survey later.
What are the risks and benefits of participating?
Risks
There are no expected risks to you other than some hassle for the time taken to complete the online survey. We do not expect that you will have any discomfort outside of normal day-to-day living. If you do have concerns, you can seek support from www.lifeline.org.au or your general practitioner. You may also seek support from your employee assistance program if this is available to you.
Benefits
We expect this research will further the knowledge and management of sleep problems in Australian farmers. You may not benefit directly from this research study.
Will the study cost you anything?
Participation in this study will not cost you anything, nor is there any payment for completing the survey. You will though, have the opportunity to go into the draw to win 1 of 5 gift vouchers as a token of appreciation.
How is your privacy protected?
This survey is anonymous. Any information completed will not be linked to you in any way. All information will be treated confidentially, and only the researchers will have access to it. The study results will be presented at conferences, in scientific publications and, to guide future research. In all cases though, individual survey results will not be identified. At the end of the survey, you will have the option to provide your email address to receive a plain English summary of the results. This will be via a separate webpage (not linked to survey data).
Further Information
If you would like more information, please feel free to contact the Principal Investigator at Gemma.Paech@health.nsw.gov.au
Thank you for considering this invitation.
Ethics
This research has been approved by the Hunter New England Human Research Ethics Committee of Hunter New England Local Health District, Reference 2021/ETH01284.
Concerns and complaints
Should you have concerns about your rights as a participant in this research, or you have a complaint about the manner in which the research is conducted, it may be given to the researcher, or, if an independent person is preferred, please contact the HNE Research Office, Hunter New England Local Health District, Level 3, POD, HMRI, Lot 1 Kookaburra Circuit, New Lambton Heights NSW 2305. Telephone: 02 4921 4140. Email: HNELHD-ResearchOffice@health.nsw.gov.au and quote the reference number 2021/ETH01284.