Introduction

The title of this research study is Dental Professionals Manage Mental Health and Work Performance during COVID; A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

I am Carri Shamburger a doctoral student under the supervision of Dr. Hester in the College of Doctorial Studies at Grand Canyon University. The purpose of this study is to explore how dental health professionals, who have worked during the COVID-19 pandemic, describe the how they have managed mental health and work performance issues.

This document defines the terms and conditions for consenting to participate in this research study.

INCLUSION: You can participate in this study if you:

• Are eighteen years of age or older.
• Have had at least two years of experience working as a dental professional.
• Were employed full-time throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Directly interacted with the public and patients as a dental professional.
• Are willing to answer personal, and private questions related to gender, race/ethnicity, religion, nationality,  native language, and current languages spoken.

EXCLUSION- You cannot participate in this study if you:

• Are under the age of 18 years.
• Do not have two years of experience as a dental professional.
• Not employed full-time during the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2019 through March 2021.
• Did not directly interact with the public and patients as a dental professional.
• You are not willing to answer personal and private questions related to gender, race/ethnicity, religion, nationality, native language, and current languages spoken.

If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to:

• Participate in a demographic survey (5 min).
• Complete an Informed Consent to participate (5 min).
• Participate in a one-on-one interview (60 min via Zoom).
• Participate in a focus group (approximately 60 minutes).
• Review the interview and focus group transcripts for accuracy.

• A one-on-one interview will take place according to the participant’s availability.
• A focus group discussion to be scheduled at a convenient time for all participants.

• The one-on-one Interviews and Focus Groups will take place via Zoom video conferencing system

• An online demographic survey using a secure research platform called Google Docs.
• Interview via zoom and Focus group will be conducted via Zoom video conferencing system.
• Focus group held using Zoom video conferencing system

I will use the audio recording feature of the online conferencing platform Zoom video conferencing system to record your responses. All information obtained in this study is strictly confidential. Because Zoom will show who you are, extra steps will be taken to maintain the confidentiality of the recorded zoom meetings. The study will use codes such as P1, P2, etc. to represent your name throughout the study and all the data collected from you will be on a password protected USB drive and kept in a locked cabinet. You can participate if you do not wish to be recorded. Your name will be changed to a pseudonym before you enter and the camera can be turned off so you are not seen.

Video Recording:

I will use the video recording feature of the online conferencing platform Zoom conferencing system to record your responses. All information obtained in this study is strictly confidential. Because Zoom will show who you are, extra steps will be taken to maintain the confidentiality of the recorded zoom meetings. The study will use codes such as P1, P2, etc. to represent your name throughout the study and all the data collected from you will be on a password protected USB drive and kept in a locked cabinet. You can participate if you do not wish to be recorded. Your name will be changed to a pseudonym before you enter and the camera can be turned off so you are not seen.

I will have access to all of your data and information. In addition, my dissertation chair, committee members, and all College of Doctoral Studies Reviewers may view your information and your answers as part of the dissertation review process.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. After reading this informed consent, you can decide whether to participate in this study or not. Also, if you choose to participate and then change your mind, you can leave the study at any time, even if you have not finished, without any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. If you decide to stop participation, you may do so by simply telling the researcher you are no longer interested in participating. I will not use the information that has been gathered from you before you chose to stop participating.

There are no foreseeable risks or discomforts associated with this study, but in any research, there is some possibility that you may be subject to risks that have yet to be identified.

No

Participants will not be paid for their participation.

The research data will be published as a dissertation. The data may be published in a research journal article. The data will not be grouped and will not include individual data.

Yes

The researcher will have data containing your informed consent forms, pseudonyms, and emails to arrange interview times. Interviews will be audio recorded and transcribed. Information will be protected on a password protected computer on accessible by the researcher.

The researcher will assign a coded number to the participant. The participant will be referenced as such in all documentation and other records, therefore you will appear without your name in the interview.

Yes, there will be a list of names with ID codes.

The researcher will take steps to minimize the potential exposure of your data to all outsiders. Your data will be kept in a secure and protected environment.

The researcher will use a password protected USB drives to store your data. The password protected USB drive will contain a coded audio recording of the interviews and interview transcripts. Using study codes and separating participants’ names from the data collected will ensure that only the researcher will know the identities of participants in the study. The data will be destroyed by 12-31-26.

All data that is collected will be secured and protected on a password protected USB drive and kept in a locked cabinet.

A minimum is 3 years.

I will have access to all of your data and information. In addition, my dissertation chair, committee members,    and all College of Doctoral Studies Reviewers may view your information and your answers as part of the            dissertation review process.

The privacy policies for the software platforms used in this research are found in the following links:

1.   https://explore.zoom.us/en/privacy/
2.   Understand the basics of privacy in Google Docs, Sheets, & Slides - Google Docs Editors Help

The signed consent form will be secured in a locked file cabinet located in the researcher’s private home             office, protected by a code only the researcher knows.

Once identifiers such as name, address, etc. are removed from the data collected for this study, the de-identified information could be used for future research studies or distributed to other investigators for future research studies without additional informed consent from you or your legally authorized representative.

Any questions you have concerning the research study or your participation in the study, before or after your informed consent, will be answered by Carri Shamburger, who can be reached at Cshamburge1@mygcu.edu or by phone at 907-242-3959.

If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this research, or if you feel you have been placed at risk, you can contact the Chair of the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, through the College of Doctoral Studies at IRB@gcu.edu; (602) 639-7804.