Explanatory Statement - Uganda

Research Study: Improving ability to detect vaccine misinformation through a mobile-based intervention: a pilot study of the Cranky Uncle game

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 Jacquellyn Ssanyu at Makerere University in collaboration with John Cook at Monash University. The survey and game will take up to 60 minutes to complete.

Who can participate in this research? To take part you must be an adult and aged over 18 living in Uganda.

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 Settings 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 and only used for research purposes.

Confidentiality The data recorded through this survey is completely anonymous at the point of collection, and the research team will not have access to participants' identifying information. Once collected, the already anonymous individual responses may be summarised for use in reports, journal articles, and conference papers.

Storage of data The anonymous survey data will be stored within Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub’s survey database, downloaded for analysis and storage in Monash University’s secure data systems, and destroyed after 5 years.

Contact This research is being conducted by Jacquellyn Ssanyu at the Makerere University School of Public Health with John Cook through Monash University. Jacquellyn Ssanyu may be reached via email at sanyukajacque@gmail.com or by phone on +256 783279549. John Cook may be reached via email at john@skepticalscience.com for questions or to report a research-related problem. Should you have any concerns or complaints about the project, you are welcome to contact The Chairperson of the Makerere University School of Public Health Research and Ethics Committee in Uganda: Dr. Joseph Kagaayi, Email: jkagaayi@musph.ac.ug, Telephone: 256-701-888-163/ 256-312-291-397. You can also contact: The Executive Officer Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC) Room 111, Chancellery Building E 24 Sports Walk, Clayton Campus Research Office Monash University VIC 3800 Tel: +61 3 9905 2052 Email: muhrec@monash.edu