For those who work in schools and participate in the PEDALS research project
You have an important role in the PEDALS study in providing information to the participants and in the implementation of the data collection. Here is information to support you in this process.
Step 1 - information
A few weeks before the data collection, the mentor/health team will send out information about the study to students and guardians on the school's platform. The students also need to be informed at school, for example during a mentoring session. All participants, both students and guardians, need to fill out a consent form before participating in the study.
Consent
- Participation is voluntary
- The results are anonymous – they will only be accessed by authorized persons
- Participants can´t be identified
As a participant, you can choose to withdraw from the study at any point. All information about you and your survey responses will be deleted.
Step 2- data collection
Data collection
The students fill in a digital questionnaire at school during school hours in small groups of around 6-8 people. Guardians complete the digital questionnaire at home within two weeks after the student has completed their questionnaire at school.
The surveys are about:
- Mental well-being
- Mental disorders
- Care needs
- Social media/gaming
- Sleep
- Bullying
- Alcohol and drugs
During the data collection, a responsible adult needs to be present with the students filling in the questionnaire in order to:
- Answer questions
- Help with language difficulties
- Help with login and organisation
During the data collection, the project's coordinator will be available digitally to provide support and answer questions.
Time consumption
45-120 minutes/student.
Step 3 - after data collection
Answering a questionnaire about mental health can trigger a range of emotions, so after the data collection is it important to check in with the students.
You may need to:
- Inform them on how/where they can seek support
- Have an increased presence of the student health team after the data collection
- Work with mental health, e.g. as a theme day or in subjects/courses
Feel free to contact the project's coordinator to discuss how a follow-up work could be carried out at your school.
Step 4- follow-up
One and two years after the first survey has been completed, the participants will have a follow-up. On these occasions only parts of the first survey will be done. The 1-year follow-up is carried out at school, then the whole class can fill in the questionnaire at the same time, for example during a mentoring class. The 2-year follow-up will be send home to the participants.