Our school will be participating in the 2017-2018 COMPASS Survey. Researchers from the University of British Columbia will ask students to complete a 45-minute questionnaire about healthy eating, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, smoking, alcohol and drug-use, mental health and bullying. The survey is confidential and no names are written on the surveys. This means that the name of your child will not be linked with their survey responses. The surveys will be stored at the University of Waterloo and only research staff will have access to the completed surveys. Both the school district and our school have given approval to conduct the study. The survey will be repeated once each year for the next two years, following the same students.
There are no known or anticipated risks to participation in this survey. The survey responses will help researchers gather details about youth health, and this information will be shared with our school to help improve school policies and practices related to health.
On May 2nd, students in grades 9 to 12 with parental permission, and who themselves agree to participate, will be asked to take part in the survey. Students are free to withdraw from the survey at any time, without penalty. Those who choose not to participate may work quietly on classroom assignments.
If you do not wish your child to participate, please call the COMPASS Data Collection Coordinator, Katie Weatherson, at 1-877-744-4940 OR contact Mr. Mark Allen at Mark.Allen@burnabyschools.ca by May 1st. Consent will be assumed unless you notify us otherwise.
To view a copy of the survey questions or for more information about the COMPASS project, please visit www.compass.uwaterloo.ca.
If you have any general questions about the study, please contact Professor/Principal Investigator Dr. Guy Faulkner in the School of Kinesiology at guy.faulkner@ubc.ca or (604)-822-2990. If you have any concerns or complaints about your rights as a research participant and/or your experiences while participating in this study, contact the Research Participant Complaint Line in the UBC Office of Research Ethics at 604-822-8598 or if long distance e-mail RSIL@ors.ubc.ca or call toll free 1-877-822-8598.