Animal Protection and Welfare Worker Experience |
Informed Consent
Title of the Project: Attachment, Meaning-Making, and Moral Injury Among U.S. Animal Care Workers
Principal Investigator: Jamie McNally, Ph.D., LPC
Invitation to be part of a research study
You are invited to participate in a research study. In order to participate, you must be 18 years old and must currently be, or have within the past 5 years, worked or volunteered in an animal care or animal protection and welfare related role or capacity. Taking part in this research project is voluntary. Please take time to read this entire form and ask questions before deciding whether to take part in this research project.
What is the study about and why is it being done?
The purpose of this study is to examine how various exposures, attachment styles, and meaning-making processes influence mental health outcomes, including moral injury, among animal care workers and volunteers with both direct and indirect animal loss, animal abuse, and trauma exposures.
What will happen if you take part in this study?
If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to do the following:
Complete an online survey consisting demographic information and questionnaires that relate to your personal experiences in animal care, your attachment style, how you have processed experiences encountered in your animal care work or volunteer activities, and your overall well-being. If you elect to continue to part 2 of the survey you will be asked additional questions related to your identity, values, and worldview. Each part of the survey will take approximately 12-15 minutes to complete (24-30 minutes total if you complete both portions of the survey).
How could you or others benefit from this study?
Participants should not expect any direct benefit from participating in this study. Benefits to society include the potential to learn more about the factors that contribute to negative mental health outcomes following work or volunteer experiences in animal care. This information can be used to improve future treatments that are available for animal care workers and volunteers suffering as a result of their experiences in animal care work. While there may be no direct benefit to you by participating in this study, we hope to contribute to the study of the mental health impact on those who care for animals, including outcomes related to trauma and moral injury
What risks might you experience from being in this study?
The risks involved in this study include possible or likely emotional discomfort due to recalling trauma exposures, direct or indirect experiences with animal abuse, animal neglect, human-inflicted trauma, and grief and loss, or other work and volunteer-related difficulties. The risks involved in this study are minimal, which means they are equal to the risks you would encounter in everyday life.
In the event that a participant is experiencing distress, they are encouraged to reach out for support. Resources that are available for support include:
- Support for Caregivers of pets with behavioral problems: https://www.insightfulanimals.com/human-support-services
- Virtual Support and Peer Support for Zoo/Aquarium Workers: https://zoomentalhealthsupport.com/support-services-2/
- Six-week support program (total of 8 people) for Veterinarians: https://veterinaryhope.org/support-groups/
- Support groups for grief & bereavement, behavioral euthanasia and more: Losing Lulu https://www.losinglulu.com/