INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
If you are the parent of a child or teenager with ME/CFS, you are invited to participate in a study of the effects of children’s illness on the family. I am a psychology professor at Stetson University and I have a very personal reason for doing this research—I have two children with ME/CFS. My wife and I know firsthand that being the parent of a child disabled by ME/CFS can be stressful, not only because of the pervasive devastation of the disease itself but also because it can be so difficult to find good medical care.
The purpose of my study is to see how symptom severity and degree of disability in children with ME/CFS and parents’ access to medical care are related to the amount of stress parents experience. The ultimate goal is to find ways to help parents cope with their children’s illness (rather than blaming them for it, as some researchers do!).
The study is open only to parents who live in the US and have a child under 18 years old who has been diagnosed with ME/CFS. The research has been approved by Stetson University’s Institutional Review Board, which evaluates research to ensure that the procedures are safe and ethical. Parents will provide information about their children, but children themselves will not participate.
Those who choose to participate will complete a brief online survey that includes measures of children's symptoms, access to and satisfaction with health care, stress, and demographic information. Then I will send them the Child Behavior Checklist, the Parenting Stress Index, and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale by regular mail. A pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope will be included for parents to return the completed materials. Participants’ names, addresses, and data will be kept secure and confidential. All participants will receive a summary of the results when the study is complete.
To find out more or to participate in this study, please go to THIS LINK.
Thank you!
Rick Medlin, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Stetson University
DeLand, FL
If you are the parent of a child or teenager with ME/CFS, you are invited to participate in a study of the effects of children’s illness on the family. I am a psychology professor at Stetson University and I have a very personal reason for doing this research—I have two children with ME/CFS. My wife and I know firsthand that being the parent of a child disabled by ME/CFS can be stressful, not only because of the pervasive devastation of the disease itself but also because it can be so difficult to find good medical care.
The purpose of my study is to see how symptom severity and degree of disability in children with ME/CFS and parents’ access to medical care are related to the amount of stress parents experience. The ultimate goal is to find ways to help parents cope with their children’s illness (rather than blaming them for it, as some researchers do!).
The study is open only to parents who live in the US and have a child under 18 years old who has been diagnosed with ME/CFS. The research has been approved by Stetson University’s Institutional Review Board, which evaluates research to ensure that the procedures are safe and ethical. Parents will provide information about their children, but children themselves will not participate.
Those who choose to participate will complete a brief online survey that includes measures of children's symptoms, access to and satisfaction with health care, stress, and demographic information. Then I will send them the Child Behavior Checklist, the Parenting Stress Index, and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale by regular mail. A pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope will be included for parents to return the completed materials. Participants’ names, addresses, and data will be kept secure and confidential. All participants will receive a summary of the results when the study is complete.
To find out more or to participate in this study, please go to THIS LINK.
Thank you!
Rick Medlin, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Stetson University
DeLand, FL
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