COVID-19: Youth Voices Matter!

Dr. Jacquie Bay, Professor Mark Vickers and Dr Tatjana Buklijas lead research teams that have a keen interest in supporting adolescents and young adults to explore and act on evidence about challenges that impact the wellbeing of society. Jacquie and Mark are from the Liggins Institute. Their work is focussed on helping young people understand how diet, lifestyle and social factors impact health and wellbeing for themselves and their whānau/families now and in the future. Tatjana is from the Centre for Informed Futures. Her work explores how evidence and ideas from across society can be used by politicians and citizens (including young people) to inform decision-making about complex social issues such as COVID-19. 

Jacquie, Mark and Tatjana would like to invite you to take part in an anonymous questionnaire to help understand how young people have experienced and are coping with the COVID-19 crisis.

By answering this questionnaire, you would contribute to evidence about:

• where young people have found information about COVID-19 
• the impact of COVID-19 on everyday life for young people (e.g. food, exercise, connecting with friends, employment etc) 
• how the move to online learning (school and university) has impacted young people
• how young people feel about their futures

If you take part, the information you provide will inform current and future projects supporting young people to contribute to decision-making in society. It will also help government, schools, health providers and support agencies to understand what support young people might need following COVID-19.

Who can take part?  All young people currently living in New Zealand who are aged between 16 and 24 years.

What is involved in the study?

• You will be required to complete a short (15 minute) online questionnaire.
• The questionnaire will cover topics such as study and learning, employment, Covid-19 related knowledge and behaviours and overall health and wellbeing.

What if I don’t want to participate in this study, or if I want to withdraw later?

• Participation in this study is entirely voluntary. 
• You can leave the questionnaire at any time by just closing the online page. 
• Once you have completed the questionnaire, because we are not collecting your name or any information that would allow us to identify your contribution, we cannot withdraw your responses.

Will I benefit from the study?

• The study gives you a chance to contribute your voice to evidence about how young people have experienced COVID-19. This experience may help you to reflect upon and understand your experiences.

Anonymity and confidentiality

• Your responses will be compiled with those from at least 300 other participants to give an overview of the responses of young people to the questions. 
• No information that could identify you will be collected or reported.

  How will my data be stored and destroyed?

The data will be stored for six years on a password protected University of Auckland computer network. After six years all copies of the data will be destroyed by erasing it from the network.

How can I find out about the outcomes of the study?

Once the study is completed, a summary of the evidence we find will be posted at this web address https://www.lenscience.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/our-research.html

Contact Details and Approval

Investigator: Dr. Jacquie Bay, Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland

Co-investigators: Prof. Mark Vickers, Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland Dr. Tatjana Buklijas, Centre for Informed Futures, University of Auckland

Research Team: Erica D’Souza, Jillian Hildreth, Peggy Lockyer, Dr. Suzanne Trask, Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland; Kristiann Allen, Dr. Anne Bardsley, Rochelle Menzies, Centre for Informed Futures, The University of Auckland

If you have any questions or wish to know more about this study, you may contact the Principal Investigator or Head of Department:

• Principal Investigator: Dr Jacquie Bay j.bay@auckland.ac.nz   | PHONE 64 9 9234282
• Head of Department: Professor Frank Bloomfield f.bloomfield@auckland.ac.nz | PHONE 64 9 9236107

Telephone 09 373-7599 ext. 83711. Email: humanethics@auckland.ac.nzFor any concerns regarding ethical issues you may contact the Chair, the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee, Office of Strategy Research and Integrity, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142.

Approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee on 13 May 2020 for three years. Reference Number 024677.