Information for female participants
What is this study about?
We don't know much about teenage girl's food intakes and lifestyles in New Zealand. We suspect that they don't get enough of some nutrients like iron sometimes, and that this can make them feel tired and affect their health.
Teenagers often make their own decisions about what foods to eat, but we don't know very much about why they choose the foods they eat.
Therefore in 2019 the SuNDiAL project is going to investigate food intakes, nutrition, health, and why female high school students (aged 15-18 years) choose to eat the way they do.
Watch a video about the survey
Who are we seeking to participate in the project?
We are looking for at least 300 female high school students who are between 15 and 18 years old.
To be eligible to take part:
- Your high school must have agreed to take part in the study
- You must speak and understand English
- You must be able to complete the questionnaires
What will the study involve?
If you agree to take part in this study you will be asked to do three things:
Complete an online questionnaire
Attend a session at your school with our research team
After you have completed the consent process you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that asks questions about your health and some general questions such as what ethnicity you identify with. This questionnaire also asks you about your overall eating habits, and why you choose to eat the foods that you do. The questionnaire will take about 30 minutes to complete.
This visit will take about 60 minutes and you will be asked to:
- Complete a face-to-face interview with one of our research team during which you will be asked to recall everything you ate and drank the day before.
- At this session one of our research team will also measure your height, your weight, and the length of your lower arm – these measurements will be done twice to make sure they are as accurate as possible. This will be done in a private space and you won't be told these measurements unless you ask for them.
Complete a second interview about the food you have eaten on another day
Sometime in the 2 weeks after you have finished the session at school you will be contacted by the research team and asked to complete a second interview in which you will be asked to recall everything you ate and drank on a different day of the week than the first interview . This is important because sometimes you can eat quite differently from one day to the next. This interview will be performed over facetime or zoom, at a time that is convenient for you.
There are three other parts to the SuNDiAL project that are entirely optional
Please read the following information carefully before you decide whether to take part in these optional bits of the study. If you agree to do these, but change your mind later, that's OK - there is no disadvantage to you if you decide not to do these. You will be asked again on the day if you still want to do them.
Provide a blood sample
We would like you to provide a blood sample (which would be collected by someone with extensive training in how to collect blood) during the session at school, but we understand that not everyone feels comfortable about this so it is entirely up to you if you do this. However, if you do provide a blood sample, we can tell you whether you're iron deficient or not. You can still take part in the rest of the study even if you don't do this bit. Provide a urine sample
Wear an accelerometer for a week
We would also like you to wear a small red box called an accelerometer on an elastic belt 24 hours a day for the seven days following the session at your school. This will tell us how much time you spend sitting down, moving around, and sleeping. If you choose to wear the accelerometer you will be asked to complete a little diary about the times you took the device off, and what time you went to bed each night on the days that you wear it. One of our research team will return to your school the week after this visit to collect the accelerometer. You can still take part in the rest of the study even if you don't do this bit.
We would also like you to give a urine (“pee”) sample (which is easy for you collect yourself in the bathroom with the equipment we give you) during the session at school. You can still take part in the rest of the study even if you don't do this bit.
After the completion of the study you will receive a $5 voucher for each component of the study that you complete.
That is $5 for completing the online questionnaire, $5 for completing the face to face interview about what you ate in the last 24 hours, $5 for completing the second interview about what you ate; $5 for providing a blood sample; $5 for providing a urine sample or $5 for wearing the accelerometer for a week. Adding to a possible total of $30 in vouchers.
Is there any risk of discomfort or harm from participation?
If you choose to provide a blood sample, you should know that there is a risk of a little pain or discomfort, and possibly a small bruise from the blood test. Any bruising should only last a few days and an experienced nurse or phlebotomist (someone with training to take blood samples) will collect the blood to minimise any discomfort to you.
What specimens, data or information will be collected, and how will they be used?
The answers you provide to the questionnaires and the food questionnaire will be entered into a database with every other participants' answers. All your answers will be kept confidential and stored using an ID number, not your name. This information will provide valuable and unique information about the nutrition status of female high school students in New Zealand. Information about why people eat the way they do will also be very helpful if some eating patterns provide health benefits. Ultimately, the results of this study will support the development of up-to-date government and health agency guidelines for adolescents in New Zealand.
If you provide a blood sample it will be divided into 3 separate parts. One part will be taken to a local laboratory where it will be analysed for Vitamin B12 concentrations and a complete blood count.
The other two parts of your blood sample will be transported to the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago where they will be stored in a freezer until we have finished collecting all the blood samples from around the country.
When all the blood samples have been collected, one part of your blood sample will be sent to Germany where it will be analysed for ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, retinol binding protein, C-reactive protein and alpha-glycoprotein. We are sending this sample to Germany because they have a special machine that can measure these things on a much smaller amount of blood, at a smaller cost, than we can do in New Zealand.
The remaining part of your blood sample will remain at the Department of Human Nutrition, where it will be analysed for plasma selenium and plasma zinc, thiamin, plasma folate, Vitamin B6, Leptin, Interlukin-6 and blood lipids.
If you provide a urine sample it will also be transported to the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago where it will be stored in a freezer until it is analysed for iodine concentrations.
Once all of the analysis on your blood and urine samples has been completed they will be disposed of using standard biohazard protocols. On the consent form you can indicate to us if you would like your samples disposed of with a karakia (Māori prayer). We will only test your samples for the things listed here, and won't test them for anything else.
What about anonymity and confidentiality?
In the database that contains the results of the study, your information will be identified with an ID number only. This database will be stored on the researchers' computers which are password protected. A backup copy may also be stored on the University's shared server space, but only Jill Haszard and Meredith Peddie will have the password so no one else can access the information.
The information linking you to your ID number will be stored in a separate password-protected file that only Jill Haszard and Meredith Peddie will have access to. The only reason they would access this information once you have completed the study would be if you requested your individual results.
This file will be destroyed once all participants have been given the opportunity to request individual information.
The de-identified information collected as part of this research will be kept in secure storage for at least 10 years.
If you agree to participate, can you withdraw later?
You may pull out of the project before the study has been completed (anticipated to be October 2019) without any disadvantage to yourself of any kind. Once data collection is completed and your information is integrated into the study it will no longer be possible to withdraw your information from the study.
Who is funding this project?
This project is funded by the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, and a Lottery Health Research Grant.
Any questions?
If you have any questions now or in the future, please feel free to contact either:
Dr Jill Haszard, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Human Nutrition
Tel +64 3 479 7559
Dr Meredith Peddie, Research Fellow, Department of Human Nutrition
Tel +64 3 479 8157
Approval by the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee
This study has been approved by the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee (Health).
If you have any concerns about the ethical conduct of the research you may contact the Committee through the Human Ethics Committee Administrator:
Tel +64 3 479 8256
Email gary.witte@otago.ac.nz
Any issues you raise will be treated in confidence and investigated and you will be informed of the outcome.