Wellness-Oriented Intervention for Young Adults

Procedures, Recruitment, and Participants

1. Wellness-oriented intervention for patients aged 18-21 under the supervision of parents. Each participant will be asked to complete a pre- and post-study questionnaire to evaluate his or her knowledge of healthy diets. The intervention will take four months and will be held in the family setting. Health care providers will assist in data collection procedures.
2. Participants will be recruited in the setting of health care facilities; nurses will be asked to approach potential participants. No personal information such as names or home addresses will be included in the data collection to protect the privacy of participants.
3. Participants will be provided with pamphlets with all necessary information; a debriefing session will be held with two groups (control and intervention) before the experiment’s launch and upon its completion.

Protection of Privacy

4. Only the names of participant’s parents and their phone numbers will be recorded for easier communication. Other identifiers will be omitted for privacy reasons; they do not provide any value to the research.
5. Each participant will be assigned a study ID to prevent anyone from determining their identity and disclosing their private information.
6. Study IDs will be maintained after the study for future references; they will be stored on an external storage device to protect data from being hacked.
7. Only the digital format will be used for better convenience. Protection with the help of encryption will be utilized for the external storage device. The data will be stored for five years in the case of usefulness for future research.

Possible Research Risks and Their Management

8. The study will involve medical records, potential invasions of family privacy, and individuals that are not fluent in English. However, the study will not manipulate psychological or social variables nor will it cause any employment, social, legal, or economic risks. No minors, children, elderly, or pregnant women will be involved in the research. Mentally or emotionally unstable individuals will not become subjects in the study due to ethical reasons. On the other hand, the diet and wellness intervention may cause psychological stress to participants since not many people can respond to lifestyle changes amicably.
9. Because the researcher will need to review the medical records of participants to determine whether they are eligible for the intervention, the possible risks of their use are inevitable. Also, it has been established that the intervention will include parental supervision; because of this, invasions of family privacy are high on the list of possible risks. While no physical or psychological damage will be caused to individuals that are not fluent in English, there is a risk of miscommunication. The researcher is the most concerned with the issue of psychological stress caused to participants due to the drastic lifestyle changes that they will be asked to make; the risks in this category are particularly high.
10. To address the risks mentioned above, three steps will be taken: ensuring privacy, using effective communication tools, and offering mental support. Providing privacy through coding and confidentiality procedures will allow the researchers to protect sensitive data that is relevant to the study from any mistreatment. All participants will be asked to sign a consent form that will allow researchers to use relevant data under the condition of non-disclosure. Effective communication tools will be used for catering to the needs of the participants that are not fluent in the English language. Translations in the native language will be provided to patients and their families in digital and pamphlet form; also, during consultations and debriefing sessions, an interpreter will be present. Lastly, the researcher is planning to collaborate with a mental health specialist to guide intervention participants through their journey to lose weight. The specialist will educate study participants and their family members on the most useful stress management techniques. Also, participants will be encouraged to contact the specialist if they have any questions and concerns.

Benefits of the Research for Participants and the Society

11. The anticipated advantage of the research for individual participants is learning how to implement lifestyle changes that will positively influence their health. Because there is a broad range of advice on how to eat healthily, but there is no structured approach towards it, providing people that struggle with their weight with a step-by-step intervention is highly beneficial. Another advantage of the research for both groups (control and intervention) is the experience of participating in the study under the supervision of healthcare professionals and scientists.
12. The anticipated benefits of the research for the society are similar to those for individual participants. If the diet intervention improves the participant’s health and helps them lose weight, the study will serve as the model for other people who struggle with their diet. The benefits of the research will outweigh the risks because the research will not only change the lifestyles of separate participants but also will serve as the basis for future studies that can involve samples of different ages and demographics.