The Playing, Living, Aging, and You In-Person Assessments study take place over the span of two days. The Morehouse School of Medicine team, with our assistance, will coordinate your travel for you to arrive in Atlanta the day before the evaluations begin.
You may not directly benefit from taking part in this research study. We hope that the information we learn from this research will help us to better identify and understand football-related health problems in the future.
You may be provided with results from the clinical assessments. These results can be shared with your primary care physician or clinical specialist for further guidance and interpretation.
Your participation in our research study is completely voluntary, and you can cease participation at any time. If an assessment makes you feel uncomfortable or you simply change your mind about your participation, let our study staff know. We will accommodate your needs the best we can. If you have any further questions about this, please contact the study team.
Study funds will cover the costs of the study visits, and all the tests and procedures that are done for the research. Costs for any ongoing or routine medical care you receive outside of this study will be billed to you or your insurance company in the usual way. You would then be responsible for any deductibles or co-payments required by your insurer.
We will provide care for you if you are harmed as a direct result of taking part in this study. Morehouse School of Medicine, Grady Health System, and/or sponsors of the study will pay for the cost of this care, if your health insurance doesn’t cover it. Care for research-related injuries may include reasonable costs for hospitalization and treatment. We will not bill public programs such as Medicaid for treating a research injury, unless the law allows it. No funds have been set aside to pay for lost wages, pain, or suffering that might result from research injuries. You do not give up any of your legal rights by being in this study. If you feel you have been harmed, contact Dr. Jammie Hopkins at 404-756-8923.
We cannot promise complete privacy, but we will do our best to keep your information safe. We will not share your details with anyone without your written permission, unless required by law. We respect your privacy and will not reveal that you are in this study.
Here’s how we keep your information secure:
A federal Certificate of Confidentiality (Certificate) has been issued for this research to add special protection for information and specimens that may identify you. With a Certificate, unless you give permission (such as in the consent form) and exceptions such as if you give us permission to release study information to a healthcare provider or as described in the “mandatory reporting requirements”, the researchers are not allowed to share your identifiable information or identifiable specimens, including for a court order or subpoena.
Certain information from the research will be put into your medical record and will not be covered by the Certificate. This includes records or medical tests or procedures done at the hospitals and clinics, and information that treating health care providers may need to care for you. Please ask your study doctor if you have any questions about what information will be included in your medical record. Other researchers receiving your identifiable information or specimens are expected to comply with the privacy protections of the Certificate. The Certificate does not stop you from voluntarily releasing information about yourself or your participation in this study, including sharing results that we return to you.
Even with these measures to protect your privacy, once your identifiable information is shared outside of Harvard University, Morehouse, or Emory, we cannot control all the ways that others use or share it and cannot promise that it will remain completely private.
Because research is an ongoing process, we cannot give you an exact date when we will either destroy or stop using or sharing your identifiable information. Your permission to use and share your information does not expire.
The results of this research may be published in a medical book or journal, or used to teach others. However, your name or other identifiable information will not be used for these purposes without your specific permission.