Explanatory Statement - Rwanda

Research Study: Improving vaccine knowledge and misinformation resistance through the mobile-based game Cranky Uncle Vaccine

You are invited to take part in this study. Please read this Explanatory Statement in full before deciding whether or not to participate in this research. If you would like further information regarding any aspect of this project, please contact the researchers via the contact details provided.

What does the research involve? This research is being conducted to assess the effectiveness of a game that teaches critical thinking. The game covers the topic of vaccination. The study is being conducted by Laetitia Nyirazinyoye at the University of Rwanda in collaboration with John Cook at the University of Melbourne in partnership with UNICEF and the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC). The survey and game will take up to 60 minutes to complete.

Why were you chosen for this research? You were chosen for this research because you have indicated that you are an adult living in Rwanda.

Consenting to participate and withdrawing from the research You may decide not to participate in the research after reading this explanatory statement and have the right to withdraw from the research at any time. To withdraw, follow the Consent link on the About screen within the game – then uncheck “Allow collection of anonymous game data.” This will automatically withdraw you from the research study.

Possible benefits and risks to participants This game aims to help individual participants become more accurately informed about vaccination and better able to identify vaccine misinformation. There are no risks to participants and all information that is recorded will be completely confidential. Your contact details will be collected in the post-game research survey solely for the purpose of sending a reimbursement for your time.

Confidentiality The data recorded through this survey is completely anonymous at the point of collection, and the research team will not have access to participant’s identifying information. Once collected, the already anonymous individual responses will be summarised for use in reports, journal articles, and conference papers. The fully anonymous data may also be provided to other researchers through an open science platform.

Storage of data Data collected will be stored on a secure, password-protected server and computer and only available to authorized University of Rwanda or University of Melbourne staff.

Contact This research is being conducted by Professor Laetitia Nyirazinyoye at the University of Rwanda, with Dr. John Cook at the University of Melbourne. If you have any questions about this study or to report a research-related problem, you may contact Professor Laetitia Nyirazinyoye at the University of Rwanda via email at lnyirazi@gmail.com or by phone (+250788683209). You may also contact Dr. John Cook at the University of Melbourne via email at jocook@unimelb.edu.au.

If you have questions about your rights as research participants, please call Dr. Mazarati Jean Baptiste, the RNEC Chair at 0788309807 or Prof. David Tumusiime, the RNEC Secretary at 0788749398.