Researchers from Emory University would like to invite you to participate in a research study. The purpose of this study is to learn more about social contacts within and outside of nursing homes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social contacts are interactions such as face-to-face conversations or physically touching another person. We are inviting you to participate in this exciting study that may shed light on how social contacts can lead to transmission of diseases within and outside of nursing homes and how strategies could be implemented to minimize this transmission.
Who can participate in this study?
All healthcare personnel and environmental service workers who work in a nursing home in Georgia, including contract staff, are invited to participate.
What does it mean to participate?
To collect data on social contacts, we will request you to record your social contacts in online contact diaries over two consecutive days (one diary per day). Contact diaries are surveys that collect information on who you meet, where you meet, how much time you spend together, and other characteristics that are important to disease transmission. You will be able to access the diaries using secure survey links, which we will share with you by email. We would like you to complete a diary one day and two days after enrolling in the study. If you choose to enroll in this study, you can change your mind about participating at any time.
More information on the contact diaries can be found by clicking here, or by typing “https://youtu.be/dn7OGyGv_2o” into your web browser.
Are there any risks or benefits to participating?
Each diary will take you approximately 10-20 minutes to complete, depending on how many social contacts you had throughout the day. During our analysis, we will remove any personal details (such as email addresses) from the data, so no one will be able to link the data back to you. Only researchers associated with this study will have access to the raw data, which will be stored in a password protected database.
Benefits to participating will be general. We aim to use information from this study to learn how to protect nursing home staff and residents from infectious diseases such as COVID-19. In recognition of your contribution, you will receive a $20 gift card for each diary you complete (up to $40).
How can I enroll?
Participation is voluntary. You can enroll in this study until May 31, 2021. Please click on the following link to enroll in the study: https://is.gd/nhmix.
You will be asked to complete a brief enrollment survey that will require less than 10 minutes of your time.