Research Participant Informed Consent Form
Please read this document carefully before you decide to participate in this research study for Florida farmers and those in Florida's agriculture industry. Your participation is voluntary, and you can decline to participate, or withdraw consent at any time, with no consequences.
Study title:
Mind Your Melon Farmer Wellbeing Study
Person(s) conducting the research:
- Carrie Baker, UF AEC Doctoral Candidate, baker.carrie@ufl.edu, (352) 867-5309
- Sarah Bush, UF AEC Assistant Professor, sab5271@ufl.edu, (352) 273-2613
- Christy Chiarelli, UF Center for Leadership, Assistant Extension Scientist, ccw@ufl.edu
- Marshal Sewell, Co-founder of Mind Your Melon, marshal@mindyourmelon.org
- Taylor Sewell, Co-founder of Mind Your Melon, taylor@mindyourmelon.org
- Jaime Jerrels, Senior Director of Policy and Outreach, Florida Farm Bureau Federation, Jaime.Jerrels@ffbf.org
- Jared Lanier, Director of Field Services, Florida Farm Bureau Federation, Jared.Lanier@ffbf.org
Purpose of the research study:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the mental well-being of Florida farmers, identify challenges they may face, and develop strategies to support their health and wellbeing.
What you will be asked to do in the study:
You will be asked to respond to a brief survey. The survey contains demographic items about you and your farming operation, as well as items pertaining to the stress you may experience and coping mechanisms, your beliefs about mental health, your help-seeking preferences, and barriers to care.
Time required:
The survey is expected to take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.
Risks and benefits:
Participating in this study may involve minimal risks, such as potential discomfort in discussing sensitive topics. There are no direct benefits of participation to you. However, the information you provide will contribute to understanding and addressing mental health issues among farmers and may aid in the development of resources for those in the Florida agriculture industry, community health practitioners, and/or mental health professionals.
Confidentiality:
All information collected will be kept strictly confidential. Your identity will be protected by assigning a code to your responses. Only the research team will have access to the dataset. As part of the data analysis, we will create or use aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized data to remove any information that could make data identifiable to you. We may use this de-identified or aggregated data and share it with Florida Farm Bureau for legitimate business purposes. We do not attempt to re-identify anonymized data. In the event of any publication or presentation resulting from the research, no personally identifiable information will be shared or linked to your responses.
Compensation:
Participants who visit our booth at in-person events will receive small promotional gifts from industry partners, valued at or under $25.
May the researcher(s) benefit from the research?
Members of the research team may benefit professionally if the results of the study are presented at meetings or in scientific journals.
Withdrawal from the study:
You are free to withdraw your consent and to stop participating in this study at any time without consequence. You can decline to answer any question you don’t wish to answer. If you choose to withdraw, you may exit the survey without submitting your responses. Once answers have been submitted, you will not be able to withdraw responses.
If you wish to discuss the information above or any discomforts you may experience, please ask questions now or contact one of the research team members listed at the top of this form. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research subject, please contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB02) office (University of Florida; PO Box 100173; Gainesville, FL 32610; (352) 273-9600 or irb@ufl.edu.