INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

This is a study of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals' access to mental health care and affirmative care providers being conducted by Gina P. Owens, Ph.D., and Ellen D.B. Riggle, Ph.D., at the University of Kentucky. We appreciate your willingness to participate in this study. The purpose of this study is to document the mental health needs and availability of access to affirmative providers for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons. Our hope is that the findings from this research project will contribute to increasing the availability of affirmative providers in current healthcare systems. The survey includes questions about current and past mental health concerns, whether or not you sought treatment for these concerns, how you paid for treatment, and whether or not you felt you could find affirmative mental health care if you so desired. We also ask questions about your perceptions of counselors or therapists and about your perceptions of yourself.

The survey take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.

ALL OF THE INFORMATION YOU SUBMIT WILL BE TREATED CONFIDENTIALLY. We are not collecting information that identifies you. Because this survey is being conducted through the web and with all information transmitted through the web, there is the possibility that your answer could be intercepted by a third party. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the privacy of your responses. However, in order to minimize security risks, please close your internet browser and restart your computer after submitting your responses and completing the survey. Also, we may be required to show information collected for the study to people at the University of Kentucky who need to be sure we have done the research correctly.

WHAT WILL I BE ASKED TO DO?

Your participation in this study involves the completion of a survey that asks questions about you, mental health benefits available through your health insurance plan, and recent use of mental health services. By completing the survey and submitting it to us, you are agreeing to participate in the study.

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS?

To the best of our knowledge, the things you will be doing have no more risk of harm than you would experience in everyday life. Although we have made every effort to minimize this, you may find some questions we ask you to be upsetting or stressful. YOU MAY ELECT TO SKIP ANY QUESTION(S) THAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO ANSWER.

WILL I RECEIVE ANY PAYMENT OR REWARDS FOR TAKING PART IN THE STUDY?

There is no payment or external reward associated with participation in this study.

WHO WILL SEE THE INFORMATION I GIVE?

We will make every effort to prevent anyone who is not on the research team from knowing that you gave us information, or what that information is. The results will be analyzed and reported as a whole, with no individually identifiable information.

CAN MY TAKING PART IN THE STUDY END EARLY?

You may elect to stop your participation at any time by simply exiting the study.

WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions or concerns about your participation in this study, please contact Dr. Gina Owens at ginaowens@juno.com or (502) 852-3830. You may also contact Dr. Ellen Riggle at pol164@uky.edu or (859) 257-7063. If you have any questions about your rights as a research volunteer, contact the staff in the Office of Research Integrity at the University of Kentucky at (859) 257-9428 or toll free at 1-866-400-9428.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I consent to participate in this research. The following has been completely explained to me: the purpose of the study, the procedures to be followed, and the expected duration of participation. Possible benefits and risks of the study have been described.

I acknowledge that I have been given the opportunity to obtain additional information regarding the study and that any questions I have raised have been answered to my full satisfaction. Furthermore, I understand that I am free to withdraw consent at any time and to discontinue participation in the study without prejudice to me.

Finally, by the act of clicking the Acknowledge-Continue button, I acknowledge that I am over the age of 18 and that I have read and fully understand this consent form.

If you do not meet the criteria listed above or are not interested in continuing, please click the Don't Acknowledge-Exit button.