Dear families,

We are sharing an email with you (see below) and two attachments (SBMH Study Objectives and SBMH Publicity (Mathison-CBE)) from the University of Calgary, regarding an opportunity for students to participate in a research study. 

The study has been approved by the CBE and is completely voluntary. Group discussions will be held at the school and there will be a Terry Fox staff member on site while students are working with the U of C staff.

Any questions about this study should be directed to Nizar Bekai (nizar.bekai1@ucalgary.ca or 403-210-6223). 

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Dear parents, 

My name is Nizar Bekai, and I am a researcher at the University of Calgary. I am contacting you, on behalf of Dr. Paul Arnold, to see if you are interested in participating in a study we are conducting on improving mental health services offered in Calgary Board of Education (CBE) schools. You are receiving this email because you are a student/parent at a school operated by the CBE, which is a partner in this research. 

Most mental health issues begin in adolescence. Schools are often the primary provider of mental health services for youth. This study is interested in identifying recommendations that the CBE can use to improve the effectiveness of its school-based mental health programs. 

In order to be eligible to participate in this study, your child must be a student in Grade 7-12 currently attending a CBE school. 

As part of the study, your child will be asked to participate in a group discussion with other CBE students. During this discussion, your child will be asked to come up with possible ways that your school can improve the mental health services it offers its students. You will find attached to this email a document titled “Study Objectives”, detailing the short-term progress and long-term goals of the project. 

Participating in this study is completely voluntary. Whether or not your child participates will not have any impact on them or their ability to access mental health services at school. 

If you would like your child to participate, please go to the following link https://redcap.cru.ucalgary.ca/surveys/?s=8PHXJ37893 and complete the demographic survey.  Once you complete the survey, a member of the research team will contact you to schedule the group discussion. 

Alternatively, if you want to learn more about the study, please contact the study coordinator directly at nizar.bekai1@ucalgary.ca or call them at 403-210-6223. 

Thank you for your time! 

Sincerely,  

Nizar Bekai, on behalf of the Principal Investigator, Dr. Paul Arnold 

This study was approved by the University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (REB22-1788).