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Researchers: Erin Mazerolle (St. Francis Xavier University), Jason Payne (St. Francis Xavier University), Alexis Hubbard (St. Francis Xavier University), Jodie Gawryluk (University of Victoria), Riley Grewcock (University of Victoria)

What is the Study About?
You are invited to participate in our study titled Aging exceptionally well: Identifying and characterizing “SuperAgers” in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging database. The purpose of this study is to identify SuperAgers within the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) database and evaluate the relationships between modifiable factors and SuperAger status. Our aim is to better understand how aspects of people’s lives have an impact on maintaining health as people age. This study is being conducted as a part of the requirements for an undergraduate degree in the Department of Psychology at St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS. Your participation is voluntary. Consenting to participate does not waive any rights to legal recourse. This study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

What Will I be Expected to do and How Much Time Will It Take?
You will be contacted via phone and asked a series of questions about yourself including things like age, gender, biological sex and level of education. The questionnaire will take roughly five minutes to complete. If you are eligible to participate, you will be asked to complete the memory test portion of the experiment. The whole test will take approximately fifteen minutes to complete. We thank you for your consideration and participation.

Will Anyone Know What I Said or Did?
The data will be entirely anonymous and presented in aggregate form only. Researchers will be collecting your name, email and phone number as a method to contact you to complete the experiment via phone. However, your name, email and phone number will not be retained with the data of the study. Your test will be recorded so that researchers can score your result. Once this is complete, you will be identifiable only as a score which will not be shared with you. The aggregate data will be presented at conferences and will be published in academic journal articles. It will also be available on the Open Science Framework for others completing research on this topic.

Where and How Will My Data Be Stored?
All data will be stored on a password protected computer in a password protected OneDrive file.

What Happens If I Change My Mind and Wish to Withdraw?
Participation is voluntary. You may withdraw at any time before the intake survey is submitted simply by closing your web browser. If you wish to withdraw at any point during the pre-screening or memory test, simply let the researcher know and your data will be removed completely. If you wish to decline answering a question on the survey, please let the researcher know. After the data has been collected you will not be able to withdraw your score.

What are the Potential Benefits and Risks Associated with Participation in the Study?
There are no direct benefits to the individuals participating in the study, beyond receiving credit points if eligible. There are potential benefits to society as a result of this research. We will make the data freely available for other researchers who may wish to use a young normative sample to understand the cognitive data in the CLSA database. In order to do this, the anonymous data will be made available on an Open Science Framework webpage. Using such data repositories are a common way to make such data available to researchers. More broadly, identifying modifiable risk factors associated with healthy aging and an attenuation of age-related cognitive decline would benefit all people. Identifying the prevalence of SuperAgers in the Canadian population can also help in informing public policy, especially if any differences are observed between Canadian and other SuperAger samples. We cannot share your scores on the tests with you, because the scores are only meaningful in the context of the research project. They cannot be used to understand your individual cognitive abilities. If you have concerns about your memory or thinking, please see your healthcare provider. There are no identified risks associated with participation in the study. However, there may be costs that we do not know about yet.

Where Do I Get Questions Answered?
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study, please direct them to Alexis Hubbard (x2022biy@stfx.ca), Erin Mazerolle (emazerol@stfx.ca) or Jason Payne (jpayne@stfx.ca). If you have any concerns about research ethics, please contact the Chair of the St. Francis Xavier University Research Ethics Board, clomore@stfx.ca.

Follow this link to sign up to participate.

Mar’yana Fisher is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Victoria. She is conducting a research study for her PhD dissertation titled “Understanding How Justice-Involved People in Canada Access and Receive Care When Diagnosed with a Life-Limiting Illness”. This study has been approved by the University of Victoria Research Ethics Board.

The purpose of this research is to draw on the perspectives of healthcare and community-based providers to examine how people who experience incarceration access and receive care when diagnosed with a serious illness.

The study is looking to recruit people with clinical and professional experience and knowledge related to access and provision of healthcare services for people with criminal histories and series illnesses.

If you take part in the study, you will be asked the following:

• To participate in one interview with me at a location of your choosing (virtual or in-person). The interview will last approximately 30 to 60 minutes.
• You will receive a 20$ e-coffee card for your time.

There are no known risks involved in participating in this study. Participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You can leave the study at any time and for any reason without any consequences. You may not benefit directly from this study; however, your participation may inform access and quality of palliative care for justice-involved people.

If you have any questions about this study, please feel free to contact Mar’yana Fisher, PhD (c) by telephone at 604-833-3948 or e-mail at maryanafisher@uvic.ca

or Dr. Kelli Stajduhar, Professor, School of Nursing at the University of Victoria, at 250-721-7487 or by e-mail at kis@uvic.ca

You are invited to participate in a study entitled “Adolescents’ Daily Lives.” This study is being conducted by Dr. Megan Ames, Dr. Jean Buckler, and ADL research team members.

Dr. Ames is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Dr. Buckler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education at the University of Victoria. Should you have any questions, you may email adl@uvic.ca, mames@uvic.ca, or ejean@uvic.ca. 

What is this Study About?

Understand how physical activity relates to how an individual feels and to explore factors which may influence this relationship on a day-to-day basis. We are interested in the association between physical activity, intention to exercise, physical literacy (motivation, confidence, movement skills, knowledge, and understanding of physical activity), and daily perceived stress and negative mood. We are purposefully recruiting half of our participants from the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, as there is insufficient representation currently. This information may be informative for informing how to promote the continuation of physical activity across the gender spectrum during adolescence.

Why is this Important?

Because it may inform the development of physical activity programs and create a better understanding of why certain interventions are effective or ineffective.

Who can Participate?

You are being asked to participate in this study because you are 13-17 years old and not suffering from any injuries or mobility/physical limitations. We are also specifically interested in including at least half of our participants from the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.

What is Involved?

If you consent to voluntarily participate in this research, your participation will include completing an initial questionnaire (~60 minutes) composed of multiple measures at the University of Victoria, and then downloading a smartphone app that will ask you a short survey (5-10 minutes) each morning, throughout the day (2-5 minutes), and at night (5-10 minutes) for 7 days (plus a two-day practice trial) as well as wearing a provided wearable activity monitor each day to monitor daily physical activity and sleep. The initial session will also involve a movement assessment consisting of six(6) tests. 

Participation in the study will be compensated through a cash honorarium of up to $50 once the 16 days are completed and the wearable monitor is returned. You will be reimbursed for travel (i.e., bus token) if needed.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. Should you be interested, please email us at the Adolescent Daily Lives project (adl@uvic.ca).

Dr. Tarek Amer and Dr. Jordana Wynn are Assistant Professors at the University of Victoria and IALH Research Fellows. They are conducting a study entitled Object Visual Attention Study to understand how attention guides our visual system to process everyday objects.

What does participation in this study involve?

Participants will be asked to look at various pictures of objects on a computer screen and make judgements about them while their eye movements are recorded using a remote eyetracking system.

Participation requires 1 to 1.5 hours of time. Participants will be compensated $25.00 plus transit costs.

Eligible participants must: 

• Be 65 years of age or older
• Speak English fluently
• Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision (no bifocal lenses)
• Have no severe visual impairments (i.e., a prescription of +/- 5.00 or higher)
• Have no history of psychiatric or neurological disorder or head injury

For more information, or to participate, please contact uvic.mva.lab@gmail.com or 250-472-5014. 

See the study flyer.

Elizabeth Borycki, Professor in UVic's School of Health Information Science and IALH Research Fellow is conducting a study that explores the use of technology for health and wellness. 

Importance of this Research

Technologies for Health and Wellness are becoming increasingly used in providing healthcare. To better understand how technologies for health and wellness affect our information needs, affect how we think (i.e., cognition) and take care of our health and wellness, the research team will interview citizens, caregivers and individuals who use these technologies in the home, work, community, and clinic contexts.

What is involved? 

• Completing two questionnaires (a demographic questionnaire and eHealth literacy questionnaire)
• Taking part in an interview (by video or phone call)
• This will take 30 to 60 minutes of your time

Eligible participants must:

• Be over the age of 18
• Use technologies for health and wellness
• Be able to read, write and speak English

Particpants will receive a $25 coffee card for their time. 

See the study flyer.

If you would like to learn more about this study, you may contact:

Elizabeth Borycki, Professor, School of Health Information Science,
email: emb@uvic.ca 

Sasha Zinovich, Research Project Manager,
email: AnalystIHT1@uvic.ca

Lois Holizki, Research Coordinator,
email: CoordinatorLDIH1@uvic.ca 
250-472-5432

Dr. David Kennedy is an Assistant Professor in UVic's School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education and an IALH Research Fellow. He is a trained physiotherapist with over 25 years of clinical practice experience. His research interests include stroke, pain and improving public understanding of pain through education. 

Dr. Kennedy and Graduate Student Sophia Mastrangelo are seeking individuals to participate in a pain science study investigating individuals’ perceived pain, and perceived damage experiences under different conditions. Specifically, how painful sensations can increase or decrease using topical creams. The goal of this study is to contribute to the field of pain study by furthering their understanding of what controls the pain experience and how it can be managed. 

What is involved? 

• Online: Particpants will be asked to complete online components via RedCap (a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases). This will include a consent form, a demographics survey and COPI-A questionnaire (A questionnaire on concept of pain).  
• In-person: In this session the researcher will apply topical creams to see how they impact pain in the individual. 
• Debrief: After data collection is concluded, particpants will be provided with information about the full breadth of the study, including particpation impact. 

Particpants will be eleigible to enter 1 of 2 $50 Amazon Gift Cards. 

Who is eligible to particpate? 

Eligible particpants must be: 

• Healthy adults aged 19-65 
• Able and willing to attend an in-person session at the University of Victoria

Contact:

If you would like to participate in this study or have any questions, please contact:

Sophia Mastrangelo (Grad Student): Email: sophiamastrangelo@uvic.ca or

David Kennedy (Assistant professor, EPHE, UVic): Email: davidkennedy@uvic.ca 

See the study flyer

Caregivers are often overlooked as care team members, and while individuals with dementia are living at home they bear significant responsibility. As a result, negative physical and mental health outcomes can occur, creating a barrier to efficient implementation and the use of smart technology in the home to support caregiving. Masters Student and IALH Student Affiliate Evangeline Wagner is seeking participants for a study entitled Understanding the Needs of Caregivers Involved in At-Home Care Using SmartHome Systems for Patients with Dementia.

To be eligible, participants must:
• a non-medical caregiver of an individual with dementia who is living at home
• over the age of 19 and
• able to read, write and speak in English

What is involved?

Participants will be asked to complete some questionnaires and participate in an interview. The tasks will take about 30 minutes to complete.

For more information or to participate, please contact Evangeline Wagner at evangelinemwagner@uvic.ca or her supervisor Elizabeth Borycki at emb@uvic.ca. 

CanAssist at the University of Victoria is dedicated to helping people with disabilities improve their quality of life, with a focus on promoting independence and inclusion. CanAssist often requires people to test new technology prototypes and provide feedback on their effectiveness. This testing is done on a voluntary basis and there is no cost. In most cases, families testing a technology can continue to use the solution for as long as it continues to be useful.

For technology testing opportunities, please visit the CanAssist website.

Are you interested in participating in health research in BC, but don’t know how to get involved? REACH BC connects volunteer participants with researchers in the province who are conducting clinical trials or other studies focused on health-related issues. Through the confidential and secure REACH BC platform, interested individuals are asked to provide information about themselves, their research interests, any health conditions they may have, and their contact information. Once registered, they will be sent information about potential research opportunities. Volunteers can then connect with research teams to ask any questions they may have about a research study and to let researchers know if they’re interested in participating. For more information on health research studies currently underway in BC, go to https://www.reachbc.ca/studies. For more information on becoming a volunteer for health research in BC through REACH BC, go to https://www.reachbc.ca/volunteers