Colleen Anne Dell, PhD
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Carleton University
779 Loeb Building
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5E7
613 520-2600 ext. 2625
March, 2007
Hello. My name is Colleen Dell and I am an Associate Professor at Carleton University in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. I would like to invite you to take part in a study that is looking at First Nations women’s healing from drug abuse, and the role treatment counselors have in their healing. This study is being carried out by the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, and Carleton University. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, has funded the study.
You are being asked to be a part of this study because of your life experiences. Little is understood about how First Nations women’s views of themselves effects their healing from drug abuse. Little is also understood about the role of treatment counselors in women’s healing. The goal of this study is to help better understand these areas so that drug abuse treatment for women can be improved.
Interviews are being done for this study. You will be asked questions about your use of
drugs and the harms they have caused in your life, how you see or define yourself, what
healing means to you, and the role of treatment counselors in your healing. I have
attached a copy of the interview questions. If you participate in the study, you will
receive $40 and a small gift right after the interview to thank you for your time. You will
also get a copy of the personal stories of two First Nations women about their own
healing from drug abuse. If you do not finish the interview once you start it, you will still
receive these things ($40, small gift, copy of stories).
If you agree to be interviewed it will not be anonymous. That is, other people at the treatment centre may know that you are being interviewed. However, when the final report is written or presented, it will be confidential. This means that no names or any other identifying information will be given.
If you are interested in taking part in an interview, I can arrange a time for you to meet with a researcher from our team for about 75 minutes at this treatment centre. The interview will be tape recorded, though it does not have to be if you do not want it to. You will also not have to answer any questions you do not want to, and you may stop the interview at any time. If you say anything during the interview that you do not want to be used in the research, just let the interviewer know and it will be removed. The tape recording of the interview will be destroyed once it is transcribed (a written copy of the tape recording), which will be about 2 months after the interview. All interviews will be stored separately from the signed, informed consent forms (see attached) in a locked filing cabinet. All interviews done for this study will be destroyed in 10 years time (March, 2017); that is, the files will be erased from all of my computer equipment and the written transcripts will be shredded.
If you decide to not participate in this study, quit once you start an interview, or decide that you do not want your interview to be used (and so it will be destroyed), it will not jeopardize the services offered by any of the organizations involved in this study, including at ______(name treatment centre).
Myself, Professor Cathy Fillmore from the University of Winnipeg, and my Research Assistants (Whisper Chase, Sheila Grantham, Jennifer Kilty, Tara Lyons, and Kendra Tagoona) are the only people who will have access to the interview data. In addition, PhD or MA students that I supervised may have access to the data for their own research projects, although it will be in the form of the anonymous transcripts.
The information you provide in this study will be used in the publication of reports, articles and public presentations. A plain language summary and full report will be available to everyone who would like to receive a copy. You may receive it in electronic or paper copy. All public presentations and updates on the project and the findings are available on the internet at:
Thank you for thinking about being a part of this study. Please let the Executive Director or Treatment Manager at this treatment centre know if you are interested in taking part. If you have any questions, please contact me at the address below.
Sincerely,
Colleen Anne Dell, Associate Professor
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Carleton University
This project has been reviewed and received ethics clearance by the Carleton University Research Ethics Committee. If you have any ethics questions or concerns you may contact Dr. Antonio Gualtieri, Carleton University Research Ethics Committee Chair:
Dr. Antonio Gualtieri, Research Ethics Committee Chair
Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6
Email: , Telephone: (613) 520-2517