STUDY BACKGROUND
You are being asked to take part in a research study exploring how people who have undergone fertility treatment describe changes to their eating habits by Uzma Baz as part of an MSc in Health Psychology, supervised by Dr Rebecca Keyte in the Department of Psychology and Counselling at Birmingham City University. The project has been approved by the Psychology Research Ethics Committee.
WHAT WILL YOU NEED TO DO?
In this study, you will be asked to complete a short online questionnaire hosted on QuestionPro. The questionnaire contains open ended questions about your experiences of eating and your relationship with food during fertility treatment. You will be asked to type your responses in your own words. There are no right or wrong answers, we are simply interested in your personal experience. You may skip any question you do not wish to answer. Example questions include:
“Did you make any changes to your eating habits during your fertility treatment?”
“Were there any things that made it more difficult for you to eat in the way you wanted to during fertility treatment?”
“How did you feel about food and eating during your fertility treatment?”
You will also be asked a small number of demographic questions, including your age, gender, cause of infertility or reason for seeking fertility treatment, details of any previous fertility treatment (such as the number of cycles and their outcomes), and your future plans for fertility treatment.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART?
You are eligible to take part if you are aged 18 or over and have undergone at least one cycle of fertility treatment (e.g, IVF, ICSI, IUI, or surgical sperm retrieval). Please consider whether you find the topics of fertility treatment distressing or upsetting. In addition, you are encouraged not to take part if you have a diagnosed eating disorder.
HOW LONG WILL THE STUDY LAST?
On average, this questionnaire takes 20-30 minutes to complete. It can be completed at a time and place of your choosing.
ARE THERE ANY RISKS OF TAKING PART?
Reflecting on experience of fertility treatments and eating habits may bring up some difficult emotions for some people, such as memories of challenging periods during treatment. To reduce the risk, you are free to skip any question you do not wish to answer and may exist the questionnaire at any point before submitting. If you feel distressed at any point during or after completing the questionnaire, please make use of the support resources listed below.
WHO TO CONTACT IF YOU ARE AFFECTED BY THE TOPIC OR CONTENT OF THIS STUDY
If taking part raises any concerns or distress, you may find the following services helpful (UK services):
Fertility Network UK
This service provides free support and information for anyone affected by fertility issues.
Website: www.fertilitynetworkuk.org
Helpline: 01424 732361
Mind
This service provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, you can contact them 24/7.
Website: https://www.mind.org.uk/
Helpline: 0300 123 3393
Shout
Shout is a free, confidential and 24/7 text messaging service for anyone in the UK who needs support.
TEXT: 85258
Website: https://giveusashout.org/
ARE THERE ANY BENEFITS OF TAKING PART?
Although there are no direct benefits to you from taking part, your participation will contribute to a better understanding of how fertility treatment can impact people’s eating habits. This is an area where very little research currently exists, and your experiences could help inform better support for people undergoing fertility treatment in the future.
YOUR RIGHT TO CONFIDENTIALITY/ANONYMITY
The only personal information collected will be your age, gender, cause of infertility or reason for seeking fertility treatment, details of any previous fertility treatment (such as the number of cycles and their outcomes), and your future plans for fertility treatment. No names or contact details will be collected. You will be asked to create a pseudonym at the start of the questionnaire; a name that is not your own which will be used to identify your data.
You will never be identifiable in the final dissertation or any outputs from this study. All data will be stored securely on BCU OneDrive and handled in accordance with BCU’s Data Protection Policy and UK GDPR.
No other identifiable information will be collected or stored.
Data will be anonymised and will be shared between the primary researcher and the supervisor, and may be subjected to audit and verification processes, but it will not be possible to identify your data at any point. The data will be kept for ten years after the degree classification has been awarded, after which point it will be destroyed.
YOUR RIGHT TO WITHDRAW AND WITHHOLD INFORMATION
In line with the regulations outlined by the British Psychological Society, you have the right to withdraw from this research study at any time without explanation.
DURING THE STUDY
While you are taking part in the study, you have the right to omit or refuse to answer or respond to any question that is asked of you. You can also stop taking part in the study while taking part by closing the tab or browser.
AFTER THE STUDY
If you have already completed the study, you can contact the primary researcher or their supervisor using the email address below, requesting your data to be withdrawn. Please provide the Pseudonym code that you created at the start of the study in the email to withdraw your data. You can have your data withdrawn until 3rd August 2026. After this date, the data will have been analysed and it may not be possible to remove individual data.
WHO IS ORGANISING THE RESEARCH?
You can contact the primary researcher by email at
[email protected] or their supervisor Dr Rebecca Keyte by email at
[email protected] if you require further information or wish to exercise your right to withdraw.
If you are unhappy at any point in the study, or if there is a problem, please contact the Psychology Department Research Ethics Committee directly at
[email protected].
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about how we use or handle your information please contact the Data Protection Officer at: Data Protection Officer, Information Management Team, Legal Services, Joseph Priestley Building, Cardigan Street, Birmingham, B4 7RJ; email
[email protected], or call +44 (0)121 202 4597.
Participants can furthermore complain directly to the Information Commissioner at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further information is available at www.ico.org.uk.
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