Wabich, Jamie http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0732-6340
Bellaguarda, Emanuelle
Joyce, Cara
Keefer, Laurie
Kinsinger, Sarah
Article History
First Online: 14 March 2020
Compliance with Ethical Standards
:
: Jamie Wabich, Emanuelle Bellaguarda, Cara Joyce, Laurie Keefer, Sarah Kinsinger declare that they have no conflict of interest.
: The study was approved by the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board (IRB). All co-investigators underwent appropriate compliance and ethics training prior to the study onset. Confidentiality of patient information was ensured by means of multiple protocols, including using an anonymous survey format that did not ask questions regarding identifying information, storage of data on a secured drive, limitation of access to the database to co-investigators only, and privacy and ethical training of all members working with the data.
: The anonymous study was conducted under a waiver of documentation of informed consent. The first page of the study survey contained information about the study as well as a consent statement. The consent statement included a question confirming that the patient was over 18 years of age and a question asking the patient if he/she accepted or declined to complete the survey. The patient was advised to only complete the survey if he/she provided consent for the study. By marking “accept” on the paper consent form, the study subject consented to the study and was advised to proceed with the survey. This protocol was approved by the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board (IRB).