Equestrian Accident Experiences Survey

* 1. Our research aims to gain insight into individual’s experiences with equestrian activities in Canada. Eligible participants are Canadian residents over the age of eighteen. The research team hopes that this study will expand our understanding of equestrian activities and the physical and psychological impacts of equestrian accidents.

Research participants are asked to volunteer approximately 25-30 minutes of their time to complete an online survey related to their equestrian experiences. The survey will consist of a demographic questionnaire, questions specific to horse-related accidents, and a variety of validated measures to assess psychological health. Due to the nature of these measures, participants may feel uncomfortable or distressed by the subject matter.

There is no direct benefit to taking part in this study. Participants have the right to decline to answer any question they do not wish to answer, and they may withdraw from participation at any time by navigating to the consent form using the “previous” button located at the bottom of the survey.

This study is designed to protect participants’ anonymity. No personally identifiable information will be collected at any point. Please do not include your name or contextual information that might directly or indirectly identify you. Participants are under no obligation to share information that they do not feel comfortable disclosing and may withdraw consent, alter answers, and skip questions at any time before submitting the survey. However, due to the anonymous nature of the data collection, withdrawing will not be possible after the survey is submitted.

Responses to this survey will be stored on SurveyMonkey’s database. SurveyMonkey’s servers are located in the United States and are therefore subject to the U.S. Patriot Act. (https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/3162).

For more information regarding SurveyMonkey’s policies on privacy and security, follow the link provided:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/security/

All records will be kept strictly confidential. All data collected will be stored electronically on a secured drive at Vancouver Island University. Only the research team and the research supervisor will have access. Consent forms and data collected will be kept on this secured drive until December 2029, at which point all unaggregated data will be destroyed. This specific research project is estimated to be completed by April 2025, but aggregated data may be kept for future research purposes.

The results of this research will be written in a final report, presented at academic conferences, and submitted for publication in an academic journal. The products of this research will mainly include aggregate data, rather than individual information. However, some questions in the survey are open-ended and answers may be directly quoted under a pseudonym in the products of this research.

The risk to participants is low, however, the research team has included a list of resources on the last page of this document that is both general and equestrian-specific for participants to access should they feel the need to seek support after taking part in the survey. If a question in the survey causes too much discomfort or distress, participants are welcome to refrain from responding to it, and either continue with the survey or withdraw participation.

If you have concerns about the ethical conduct of this study, please contact the Vancouver Island University Research Ethics Board at reb@viu.ca or (250) 740-6631. If you wish to have a copy of this form for your records, please feel free to screenshot or print this page.

Canadian Mental Health Association:
https://cmha.ca/fin

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988 (24/7)

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