Participant Information Sheet

1. Factors influencing paramedic decisions to transport Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest patients under CPR.

The following information sheet is for those who wish to participate in the study named above.

2. Invitation You are invited to participate in a research study into the factors that influence paramedic decisions to transport Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) patients under CPR. This study is being conducted in partial fulfilment of an Honours degree for student Ryan Davis under the supervision of Leigh Parker and Dale Edwards of the University of Tasmania 2016.

Ryan Davis completed a bachelor of Paramedic Practice in 2016 and is continuing to work on an honours degree.

Leigh Parker is a lecturer at the School of Medicine and Dale Edwards is a senior lecturer at the school of Medicine. Both are supervising this project.

3. What is the purpose of this study? This study aims to identify the factors that influence paramedic decisions to transport Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) patients under CPR?

4. Why have I been invited to participate? You have been invited to participate because we are trying to obtain a cross section of paramedics in the Australasian region. Your involvement in the project is completely voluntary.

5. What will I be asked to do? If you choose to participate in this study, you will be asked to identify yourself by emailing [email protected]. At this point, an interview time that suits you will be scheduled. This interview will take 30-45 minutes and you will be asked no more than 10 questions in relation to your experiences with Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest patients.

6. Are there any possible benefits from participation in this study? By identifying factors that influence Australasian Paramedics to transport OHCA patients under CPR, more research can be done on these factors to determine whether they are credible reasons for transport. This could ultimately lead to the developed of Clinical Guideline protocols around the appropriateness of transport of OHCA patients under CPR.

7. Are there any possible risks from participation in this study? Whilst there are minimal risk to participating in this study, the discussion of sensitive topics, such as paediatric arrests, may arise from this interview and as result may elicit an emotional response. In the unlikely event that this occurs, the researcher will cease the interview without prejudice and can contact support services on behalf of the interviewee and provide options for further support including your local GP, Lifeline (Ph: 13 11 14) and Beyond Blue (Ph: 1300 22 4636) should this be required.

of 2 Participant Information Sheet 8. What if I change my mind during or after the study? It is important that you understand that your participation in the research project is on a completely voluntary basis and whilst we hope you will participate, we respect your right to refuse. You will have to opportunity to withdraw from the study should you wish and can do so without any explanation or consequence.

9. What will happen to the information when this study is over? All information you provide will be treated in a confidential manner and your name will not be used throughout our research. All the hardcopy data will be kept in a locked cabinet at the School of Medicine Paramedic Division and the electronic data will be kept on a password protected computer. Both sets of data will be destroyed after five years from first publication.

10.How will the results of the study be published? The results of this study will be included in an Honours thesis. The results may also be included in academic journals and presented at meetings.

11.What if I have questions about this study? If you have any questions about this study, you can contact the chief investigator, Leigh Parker at [email protected] or on 6226 4754. Alternatively, you can contact Dale Edwards at [email protected] or on 62264703 and Ryan Davis at [email protected] or on 6226 7783

This study has been approved by the Tasmanian Social Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee. If you have concerns or complaints about the conduct of this study, please contact the Executive Officer of the HREC (Tasmania) Network on +61 3 6226 6254 or email [email protected]. The Executive Officer is the person nominated to receive complaints from research participants. Please quote ethics reference number H0015824.

This information sheet is yours to keep. Proceeding with this interview will indicate your consent to participant in this research.