I bring this message to you from my fellow sleep researchers in the United States. They need your help.
Please consider participating, Dr Ian Dunican.
The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has had far reaching effects on all of us already, and we are only beginning to feel their impact. With this unique time in human history comes the realization that we have little understanding of how many of the large-scale measures being taken will impact us as individuals and a society. With that in mind, the Boston College Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory is seeking all adult participants (ages 18+) to participate in a longitudinal survey study to address some of these questions. Given the large-scale effects this outbreak has already had on societies and cultures across the globe, we are seeking participants regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are three main purposes to this study:
- Determine if certain sleep or activity behaviours generate any additional protection or risk of contracting COVID-19
- Determine the effects of COVID-19 on sleep, activity and mood, and determine if any changes persist after recovering from the symptoms
- Determine the societal impacts of COVID-19 and cases of quarantine on stress levels, mood, and sleep.
We are hoping to recruit a large number of participants across a wide range of demographics to have as wholistic understanding of this pandemic as possible. Should you choose to participate in this study, you will receive a link for an online demographic form via email. Once completed, you will begin receiving links to an online daily survey via email in which you will be asked to report on characteristics of your sleep, stress, and mood, as well as screening for COVID-19 symptoms and diagnosis. You are free to discontinue your participation at any time without penalty.
All participants that complete the initial demographic survey will be entered into a drawing for one of 10 Amazon gift cards worth $50. Additionally, for every 5 days of surveys that you fill out, you will receive one additional entry into the raffle. The days the surveys are completed do not need to be consecutive to qualify.
Most importantly, your health and safety are our number one priority. If diagnosed with COVID-19, we hope and encourage you to seek the treatment and care that you need and recover quickly. Any information that you provide us moving forward will be useful in understanding the effects of COVID-19 and the culture of living though a pandemic, but please do not let keeping up with these surveys interfere with your care in any way. Feel free to only respond to the study on days that you are feeling up to it.
If you’re interested in participating, please click on the link below or copy and paste it into your browser to read more about the study and provide your informed consent:
We again are hoping to get as diverse responses as possible, so please feel free to forward this posting to family, friends and colleagues. For now, we wish you safety and health in this stressful time.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tony Cunningham and Dr. Elizabeth Kensinger
Post-doctoral Fellow
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School
Boston College