Peer support for unpaid cancer caregivers, caring for individuals with advanced cancer in regional, rural, and remote areas: An Exploratory Mixed-Method Study.

Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) Project ID: ETH2025-0570

You are invited to take part in a pilot study of this research project, Peer Support for Unpaid Cancer Caregivers, caring for Individuals with Advanced Cancer in Regional, Rural, and Remote Areas: An Exploratory Mixed-Method Study. This is because you are an unpaid cancer caregiver (UCC) living in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas of Queensland. The research project aims to identify any unmet needs of UCCs and how the presence/ absence of peer support impacts their emotional and physical well-being to develop a peer support model tailored to UCCs residing in RRR areas. This Participant Information Sheet tells you about the research. The findings from this project will also fill gaps in the literature, where there is limited research on how peer support can improve the overall well-being of UCCs by addressing their unique needs. At this stage, we are inviting a small group of UCCs in a pilot study to improve the questions by responses before inviting more participants. The pilot study aims to ensure that the questions are clear and reflect UCCs' experiences, needs, their perceived social support, and their level of physical and emotional well-being.  This research is conducted by Mehrnaz Keramatikerman as a part of her doctoral studies through the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ).

Participation

Your participation will involve the completion of an online pilot study questionnaire that will take approximately 20 minutes of your time.

The questionnaire includes questions about caregiving needs, emotional and physical well-being, and perceived social support which is accessible via QR code or a direct electronic link.

Your participation in the survey is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw from the study at any time before submission. Once you submit your responses will be anonymised and can not be withdrawn. Your decision to participate or withdraw will not impact your relationship with UniSQ or any associated healthcare organisations.

Expected benefit

You may not directly benefit from participating in this project; however, your participation helps to develop a peer support model tailored to RRR areas and improve supportive healthcare services.

Risks

In participating in the survey, some questions might be emotionally sensitive since they are related to your caregiving experiences with your loved ones with cancer. If you feel emotional discomfort, you can contact NewAccess, free mental health program developed by Beyond Blue, Lifeline Australia or Beyond Blue, a Mental Health and Well-being support organisation. The contact details are as follows:

NewAccess: 1300 971 309

Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

Privacy and confidentiality 

All the responses will remain confidential and anonymous. The data from the survey will be securely stored at UniSQ’s Research Data Repository (ReDBank) for 5 years, after which it will be permanently deleted. If you wish to have a summary of findings once the mixed-method study is completed, you can directly contact the student investigator, Mehrnaz Keramatikerman, at the email address. Any data collected as a part of this project will be stored securely, as per the University of Southern Queensland’s Research Data and Primary Materials Management Procedure.

Questions

Please refer to the Research team contact details at the bottom of the form to have any questions answered or to request further information about this project.

Concerns or complaints 

If you have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project, you may contact the University of Southern Queensland, Manager of Research Integrity and Ethics on +61 7 4687 5703 or email researchintegrity@unisq.edu.au. The Manager of Research Integrity and Ethics is not connected with the research project and can address your concern in an unbiased manner.

Research team contact details: