Thursday 30 January 2014

Appendices to report


Appendix A: Recruitment brochure – All participants


Understanding for a change: Interrogating effects from twenty years of denying women’s access to an abortion in PEI.


We are a group of researchers and community allies interested in understanding women’s experiences with accessing abortion in PEI and helping to create reproductive justice for women. We are interested in learning about your experiences so that we can change PEI’s abortion policy to open access for women. If you have any questions about this research, you can contact the lead researcher, Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie Department of Psychology, UPEI at 902-566-0617 (cmacquarrie@upei.ca).

We want to speak confidentially with women in Prince Edward Island and our allies for access to abortion. We are interested in interviewing:

a) women who have secured an abortion in PEI at any time in their life,

b) women who had to leave PEI to secure their right to an abortion,

c) women who requested the morning after pill, for themselves or for a friend,

d) women who tried home remedies or other folk medicine to attempt an abortion,

e) women who wanted an abortion but were blocked access in any way,

f) women and men who have worked as abortion rights activists,

g) women and men who accompanied friends or family to an abortion, and

h) medical personnel interested in securing women’s reproductive rights in PEI.

 

What Do You Want Me to Do?

·       Take part in a one hour interview

o   about your experiences with accessing or trying to access abortion in PEI

o   Social messages you experience and their impact on you

o   Your opinion on how to improve access to abortion for PEI women

Where will the interview take place?

·       In a confidential place that is convenient to you where you will feel comfortable.

 

You Have Rights

·       If you participate in the interview you may

o   end the interview at any time

o   refuse to answer any question

·       If you end the interview or refuse to answer a question there is no penalty.

·       We will give you a ride to where the interview will occur, if you need it.

 

What Happens With My Interview Then?

The interview will be audio recorded and typed out. All information that can identify you or your location will be removed from the typed out copy. Only the members of the research team will see the typed out copy. Your story will be combined with others in your province to make a story about women’s access to abortion.  

Interested?  If you would like to take part or would like more information, call Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie Department of Psychology, UPEI at 902-566-0617 (cmacquarrie@upei.ca).


 

Appendix B: Informed consents and Research Conversation Guides

Consent Form for Interviews                                 

Understanding for a change: Interrogating effects from twenty years of denying women’s access to an abortion in PEI.

 

We are a group of researchers and community allies interested in understanding women’s experiences with accessing abortion in PEI. The results from this research will be used to educate the public and inform policy about the impact on women’s lives of the current policy. The lead researcher is Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie, Department of Psychology, UPEI.  If you have any questions about this research, you can contact Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie at 902-566-0617 (cmacquarrie@upei.ca).

             

We want to speak confidentially with women in Prince Edward Island and our allies for access to abortion. We are interested in interviewing approximately 120 people from the following categories:

a) women who have secured an abortion at any time in their life while living on PEI,

b) women who had to leave PEI to secure their right to an abortion,

c) women who tried home remedies or other folk medicine to bring about an abortion,

d) women who wanted an abortion but were blocked access in any way,

e) women and men who requested the morning after pill, for themselves or for a friend,

f) women and men who have worked as abortion rights activists, and

g) medical personnel interested in securing women’s reproductive rights in PEI.

 

Only the lead researcher and one of her co-researchers Cathrine Chambers (M.Ed, CCC) will know the identity of any of our participants. We will hold your information in confidence and anonymity.

 

We will ask about your experiences with the process of accessing abortion or with helping others to access abortion. We will ask you to reflect on the social messages you received at the time and the support or lack of support you felt from different people and institutions. We will ask you to give us advice about how to open access to abortion for PEI women.

 

We would like to invite you to volunteer to participate in this research. Either Colleen MacQuarrie or Cathrine Chambers will be the person who will be conducting the interviews. If you decide during the interview that you do not want to answer a certain question or that you would like to end the interview, please say so and your wishes will be respected and there will be no repercussions to you. Interviews are likely to last about 60 minutes.

 

You may find it beneficial to talk about your experiences. The information that you provide will be used to influence public policy on women’s reproductive rights in Prince Edward Island.

 

After the interviews, we will be creating a presentation of our initial analysis to invite feedback from various participants. Would you like to be invited to a closed group discussion with other research participants?

 

                Yes, please contact me about a closed group discussion.

                No, I do not want to attend a closed group discussion but I would like to give written feedback. Please contact me about this.

Name    _____________________________________

Address_____________________________________

Daytime phone _______________________________                  Evening phone________________________________

Cell        ______________________________________

Email    ______________________________________

 

  No, do not contact me about any feedback from the initial findings.

 

This research project may create new questions for women’s reproductive rights in PEI. If you are interested in being contacted for your potential participation in future studies on women’s reproductive rights, please indicate this below.

  Yes, please contact me about participating in future studies.

  Use the contact information above or if you wish provide alternate contact information for this:      Name_____________________________________

              Address_____________________________________

              Daytime phone _______________________________    Evening phone________________________________

              Cell        ______________________________________

              Email    ______________________________________

 

                No, do not contact me about participating in future studies.

 

It is possible that participating in this interview will be difficult for you, and you may wish to talk to someone about your experiences. For your convenience, we have attached a list of services that you can choose to access if you would like to. Cathrine Chambers (M.Ed, CCC), who is a trained counsellor has also agreed to be contacted by phone (902-830-3084) should you have any personal concerns that arise following the interviews and can assist you with a referral for assistance to other community supports.

 

The interviews will be audio-taped and then typed out. All of the information collected will be kept confidential. All conversations will be transcribed after Dr. MacQuarrie removes identifying information. The transcribers will be Dr. MacQuarrie’s honours students. All transcribers will sign an oath of confidentiality which means they cannot disclose what they type. The typed conversations will be analyzed as a group. You personally will not be identifiable in the research reports.

 

The information you provide will be kept in a locked cabinet at the University of Prince Edward Island. Only the members of the research team will have access to the data collected. You will remain anonymous in all reports and presentations that result from this study. This means that your personal information, such as your name or anything else that could identify you, will be removed from the typed out copies. No one outside the research team will be able to see or hear any personal information that will let them know who has been interviewed. The data collected will be destroyed 5 years after the completion of the study.

 

Your signature below confirms that you have understood the information provided about this  study and that you agree to take part in the interview.

 

I have received information about this study, and I have had the opportunity to have any questions about my participation answered.

 

I agree that non-identifying quotations from my interview can be used.

 

I agree that my interview will be audio-taped.

 

I understand that I can contact the UPEI Research Ethics Board at 902-620-5104, or by e-mail at lmacphee@upei.ca if I have any concerns about the ethical conduct of this study.

 

I have the freedom to withdraw from this study at any time and/or not answer any question.

 

I understand that I can keep a copy of this signed and dated form.

 

I understand that the information will be kept confidential within the limits of the law. 

 

 

Participant’s Signature____________________________________ Date___________________

 

 

Researcher’s Signature____________________________________ Date___________________

 

 

 

If you would like to receive a summary of the results of this study, please provide either your  mailing address or e-mail address below:

 

                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                          

Discussion Groups CONSENT FORM

Understanding for a change: Interrogating effects from twenty years of denying women’s access to an abortion in PEI.

 

You participated in an interview in our project. As promised, we removed any identifying information and analysed our interviews across many participants. We have analysed the interviews and now want to get your feedback on what we understood from those interviews.

                              

The lead researcher is Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie, Department of Psychology, UPEI.  If you have any questions about this research, you can contact Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie at 902-566-0617 (cmacquarrie@upei.ca). We want to share the findings with you to see how those findings fit with your experiences. Your opinions and your ideas are important to change reproductive justice for women in PEI.


The discussion group will be facilitated by Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie and Cathrine Chambers (M.Ed, CCC), the same two researchers who did the interviews for the project. The meeting will take place on the UPEI campus in Dr. MacQuarrie’s research room, Dalton 104.

If you choose to participate in the research you will join a group discussion along with approximately 10 other people who also participated in our interviews.

Four separate discussion groups are held for women who:

have secured an abortion while living in PEI

have tried to obtain an abortion but were blocked from doing so,

tried home remedies for abortion and either were or were not successful in terminating the pregnancy

have accessed the morning after pill for themselves in PEI.

 

Two separate discussion groups are held for allies. If you were in our family/friends allies group, this group may include people who supported women by obtaining morning after pills at drugstores or who accompanied women to an abortion. If you were in our activist and medical professionals allies group, it may include people who have worked as abortion rights activists and medical personnel interested in securing women’s reproductive rights in PEI.

 

The discussion will be about

your opinions on the ideas coming from the research

your ideas about other ways to work for reproductive justice in PEI

discussions will last about 2 hours

you will not be identified in the research findings

your ideas will be combined with others to improve the research

 

All discussion group participants are requested to hold the information confidential to the group.

This means that after the discussions you may discuss ideas you have with people outside the group, but that the other participant’s names and identities should not be shared. It is unethical to share people’s names outside this group. Of course, we as researchers can not guarantee that all discussion group participants will adhere to this requirement and so neither confidentiality nor anonymity can be guaranteed from group discussions.

 

It is possible that participating in this group conversation may be difficult for you, and you may wish to talk to someone about your experiences. For your convenience, we have attached a list of services that you can choose to access if you would like to. Cathrine Chambers (M.Ed, CCC), who is a trained counsellor has also agreed to be contacted by phone (902-830-3084) should you have any personal concerns that arise following the group discussion and can assist you with a referral for assistance to other community supports.

 

The discussion will be audio-taped and the facilitators will be the only ones who have access to the audio tapes. Notes will be taken from the discussion. All of the information collected will be kept confidential. The group conversations will be analyzed to determine what needs to be added to the findings from the interviews. You personally will not be identifiable in the research reports.

 

The information from the group discussion will be kept in a locked cabinet at the University of Prince Edward Island. Only the facilitators will have access to the audio tapes. Any notes made from the tapes will not contain any identifying information. You will remain anonymous in all reports and presentations that result from this study. This means that your personal information, such as your name or anything else that could identify you, will be removed from any notes from the discussion group. No one outside the facilitators will be able to see or hear any personal information that will let them know who has been interviewed. The data collected will be destroyed 5 years after the completion of the study.

 

I hereby consent to be a participant in a research study led by Colleen MacQuarrie, PhD of the University of Prince Edward Island. I have read the information and understand that the purpose of this research is to understand my ideas and opinions about women’s reproductive justice in PEI.

I acknowledge that:

 

              1) I understand my participation is voluntary

              2) I have the freedom to withdraw from the research at any time without penalty or prejudice

              3) I have the freedom not to answer questions I am not comfortable with

              4) I understand the information I share will be confidential within the limits of the law

              5) I understand I can keep a copy of the signed and dated consent form

              6) I understand that I can contact the UPEI Research Ethics Board at 902-620-5104, or by e-mail at lmacphee@upei.ca if I have any concerns about the ethical conduct of this study.

Furthermore, I agree to keep all the information discussed in the context of the focus group confidential and anonymous. I can only share my ideas outside the group; I cannot share other’s identities.

Participant’s Signature____________________________________ Date___________________

Researcher’s Signature____________________________________ Date___________________

If you would like to receive a summary of the results of this study, please provide either your  mailing address or e-mail address below:


 

Research Conversation Guide

For women who have had an abortion:

1.     Tell me about your experience with securing an abortion (or if applicable: with using the morning after pill.

Probes

a.     Year/age/context

2.     The time leading up to the abortion (using the morning after pill).

a.     The abortion process (or the process of using the morning after pill).

b.     Post abortion care (post morning after pill care)

3.     When you think about the social messages that women who wanted an abortion were getting at the time, what were they? (or if applicable: with using the morning after pill)

4.     How did those messages make you feel?

a.     Can you think of how you were effected by those messages?

i.       Strengths developed?

ii.     Internalized negative messages?

5.     If you could journey back in time with your current day wisdom, what would you tell yourself?

6.     What, if any, changes would you like to see in the current situation for women’s reproductive rights in PEI?

a.     Intrapersonal (changes in how you think / feel / act about the issue?)

b.     Interpersonal (changes in how you relate to others around the issue?)

c.     Structural (changes in public policy or public discussion?)

7.     What is important to keep in mind when we are doing work on women’s abortion rights?

8.     Is there anything we have not talked about that is important for me to know?

 

Research Conversation Guide

For women who tried home remedies for abortion and either were or were not successful in terminating the pregnancy

1.Tell me about your experience with using a home remedy to secure an abortion.

Probes

a.     Year/age/context

2.     The time leading up to the abortion (or if applicable, attempted abortion if pregnancy continued).

a.     The abortion process (or if applicable, attempted abortion if pregnancy continued).

b.     Post abortion care (or if applicable attempted abortion after care if pregnancy continued).

3.     When you think about the social messages that women who wanted an abortion were getting at the time, what were they?

4.     How did those messages make you feel?

a.     Can you think of how you were effected by those messages?

i.       Strengths developed?

ii.     Internalized negative messages?

5.     If you could journey back in time with your current day wisdom, what would you tell yourself?

6.     What are some changes you would like to see?

a.     Intrapersonal (changes in how you think / feel / act about the issue?)

b.     Interpersonal (changes in how you relate to others around the issue?)

c.     Structural (changes in public policy or public discussion?)

7.     What is important to keep in mind when we are doing work on women’s abortion rights?

8.     Is there anything we have not talked about that is important for me to know?

 

Research Conversation Guide

For women who were blocked from obtaining an abortion:

1.     Tell me about your experience with trying to secure an abortion.

Probes

a.     Year/age/context

b.     Who/what was blocking you?

c.     Who/what was supporting you?

d.     What might have made a difference?

e.     What happened to you as a result of being blocked in your efforts to exercise your right to an abortion?

2.     When you think about the social messages that women who wanted an abortion were getting at the time, what were they?

3.     How did those messages make you feel?

Can you think of how you were effected by those messages?

iii.   Strengths developed?

iv.    Internalized negative messages?

4.     If you could journey back in time with your current day wisdom, what would you tell yourself?

5.     What are some changes you would like to see?

a.     Intrapersonal (changes in how you think / feel / act about the issue?)

b.     Interpersonal (changes in how you relate to others around the issue?)

c.     Structural (changes in public policy or public discussion?)

6.     What is important to keep in mind when we are doing work on women’s abortion rights?

7.     Is there anything we have not talked about that is important for me to know?

Research Conversation Guide

For reproductive justice activists and medical professional allies

1.     Tell me about your experiences with trying to secure abortion rights for women.

Probes

a.     Time span of most activism

b.     Current day involvement

c.     Who/what was blocking you?

d.     Who/what was supporting you?

e.     What might have made a difference?

f.      What happened to you as a result of being blocked in your efforts to help women in PEI to exercise their human rights?

2.     What are the social messages that women who want an abortion in PEI are getting?

a.      Historic versus current day messages? Any change?

3.     How do those messages make you feel?

a.     What do you think the effects of those messages were/are?

4.     If you could journey back in time with your current day wisdom, to your most activist time, what would you tell yourself?

5.     What are some changes you would like to see?

a.     Intrapersonal (changes in how you think / feel / act about the issue?)

b.     Interpersonal (changes in how you relate to others around the issue?)

c.     Structural (changes in public policy or public discussion?)

6.     What is important to keep in mind when we are doing work on women’s abortion rights?

7.     Is there anything we have not talked about that is important for me to know?

 

Research Conversation Guide

For Friends/Family Allies Accompanying Women for an abortion (or, if applicable, with accessing the morning after pill)

 

1.     From your perspective as a friend/family member, tell me about your experience with helping to secure an abortion (or if applicable: with accessing the morning after pill.)

Probes

a.      Year/age/context

2.The time leading up to the abortion (using the morning after pill).

a.     The abortion process (or the process of using the morning after pill).

b.     Post abortion care (post morning after pill care)

3.     When you think about the social messages that women who wanted an abortion were getting at the time, what were they? (or if applicable: with using the morning after pill)

4.     How do those messages make you feel?

a.     What do you think the effects of those messages were/are?

b.     Can you think of how you were affected by those messages?

i.       Strengths developed?

ii.     Internalized negative messages?

5.     If you could journey back in time with your current day wisdom, what would you tell yourself?

6.     What are some changes you would like to see?

a.     Intrapersonal (changes in how you think / feel / act about the issue?)

b.     Interpersonal (changes in how you relate to others around the issue?)

c.     Structural (changes in public policy or public discussion?)

7.     What is important to keep in mind when we are doing work on women’s abortion rights?

8.     Is there anything we have not talked about that is important for me to know?

 

Feedback Focus Group Discussion Guide:

Template For Eliciting Feedback:

You participated in an interview in our project. As promised, we removed any identifying information and analysed our interviews across many participants. We have analysed the interviews and now want to get your feedback on what we understood from those interviews.

We want to share the findings with you to see how those findings fit with your experiences. Your opinions and your ideas are important to change reproductive justice for women in PEI.

Facilitator takes 10 minutes to present an overview of the thematic findings from the research. Then each theme is discussed in turn by the group.

Facilitator presents theme 1 to participants.

Based on your experiences, what are your ideas about this theme?

What else should we understand about this theme?

What would you add?

What would you take away? (how might it be qualified?)

Each theme is presented systematically with this questioning stance.

Final concluding discussion,

  1. Overall what is your opinion of these findings?
  2. How fully was your experience portrayed by these findings?
    1. How would you qualify the findings overall?
  3. Is there anything we haven’t talked about which is important for us to know about women’s access to abortion in PEI based on your experiences?

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