You are being invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide whether you would like to participate, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve.
Researchers’ Names and Description:
Oluwadara Adedeji, School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Belfied, Dublin
Mark Matthews, PhD., School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Belfied, Dublin
What is this research about and why am I doing it?
Impulsivity such as engaging in buying sprees, is included as a criteria for diagnosing Bipolar Disorder. Overspending and compulsive buying can result in financial difficulty for patients. Some bipolar disorder patients file for bankruptcy due to the financial challenges they face from their impulsive spending.
Having a tool that can assess mental health of people based on how they spend can help provide insights and alerts about their mental state and individualized financial management.
In this study, we seek to understand factors and requirements necessary for people to share their financial data for subsequent studies, what level of detail people are willing to share, and relevant factors that affect their spending.
Why have you been invited to take part?
You have been invited and can participate if you:
- Are an adult aged 18 or over
- Have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder by a medical professional
- Currently reside in Ireland, United Kingdom, the United States or Nigeria
- Can read and understand English
What will happen if you decide to take part in this study?
Your consent to participate in this study will be obtained by completing a consent form. Thereafter, you will complete a survey to determine if you qualify for the study. Following this, you will be interviewed by one or both of our researchers.
What are the risks and benefits of participating in this study?
Benefits. There are no direct benefits for taking part in this study. However, at the end of the study, the findings of the study will be shared with you.
Risks. The risks of this study are minimal. A potential, but extremely unlikely, risk is a breach of confidentiality. Many steps have been taken by the research team to protect the confidentiality of your information in the interviews:
- Sensitive information such as date of birth, address will not be collected for this study.
- Your data will be used for research purposes only and will never be sold to a third party.
- You can decide on what part of the interview you want left out of the study.
- You can withdraw from the study whenever you choose and can request your recording deleted even after the interview.
- You will be assigned an ID, which is not personally identifiable, for the interview.
In addition, the interview questions are general and broad, which have been evaluated by a clinical psychologist and there is minimal risk of any triggering you.
