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INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Episodic Disability Management: The Experiences of HR Professionals and Employers
 
Introduction
 
We request your participation in a survey being conducted by Invisibility to Inclusion (i2i), a research partnership involving academics, business professionals, NGOs and others committed to improving the economic and social situation of people with episodic disabilities. The purpose of the survey is to explore how employers and HR managers are accommodating employees who have episodic health conditions in Canadian workplaces. 

According to the Episodic Disabilities Employment Network, episodic disabilities are long-term conditions that are characterized by periods of good health interrupted by periods of illness or disability. These periods may vary in severity, length, and predictability from one person to another. Some common examples of episodic disabilities include, arthritis, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, some forms of cancer and mental illness. Unlike permanent disabilities, episodic disabilities are periodic — the episodes of illness come and go — but because they are also unpredictable, managers may find it challenging to address the unique needs of these employees.  

This research study will help us learn more about your successes and challenges in accommodating these employees. Your responses will be used to help us develop information and resources to support employers to retain and support employees with episodic health conditions while meeting business/service objectives.

This survey is intended for Senior HR managers, for employers in small and medium-sized businesses, and for executive directors in non-profit organizations who are responsible for managing workplace disability accommodations and should take approximately 15 minutes.

About Invisibility to Inclusion (i2i)

Invisibility to Inclusion is a collaborative project involving academic researchers from the University of Guelph, Ryerson University, and Osgoode Hall Law School; NGOs (Realize, the Canadian Centre on Diversity and Inclusion); business professionals (Global Learning, Inc.), and members of the arts community. i2i has been funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
 

For more information about i2i, visit our website at www.invisibility2inclusion.ca

 

About this Research Study and Your Rights as a Participant:

 
Why Should You Participate in this Survey?

Your participation will help us develop information and resources for employers and managers regarding how to best accommodate people with episodic disabilities in the workplace.

 

Procedure

We will ask you to complete this short on-line survey. The survey takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

 

Potential Benefits of Participation

Though participation may not directly benefit you in the short term, your participation will help us develop recommendations for Canadian employers on how to best accommodate people with episodic disabilities. There is no monetary compensation provided for participation. A tip sheet for supporting people with episodic disabilities is provided at the end of the survey; it can also be obtained by visiting our website at: www.invisibility2inclusion.ca

 

Potential Risks and Discomforts of Participation

The risks to any participant are low. It is up to the individual whether they wish to participate. You may choose not to answer any questions you don’t want to. No personally identifiable information will be attached to responses to the questions. 

 

Confidentiality

All reports will be based on data that will be aggregated across participants. Any quotations will be paraphrased and modified to protect participant anonymity. Any contact information you may provide for a potential follow-up interview or roundtable is completely voluntary and will be kept separately from your responses. Please note that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed while data are in transit over the internet. IP addresses will not be collected.


Data Management

All data collected in this research will be stored for up to one year on a protected server controlled by i2i researchers at the University of Guelph in a password protected file, at which point the raw data files will erased. If you choose to provide your contact information, please note that it will be stored separately from your survey responses. Only researchers associated with the i2i project will have access to the raw data. Once the information has been collected and analyzed it will be developed into a report that will be shared with the public and disseminated to our employer partners and other community collaborators. The final report will be published in downloadable form on the i2i website in April, 2020.

 

If you have any questions regarding your rights and welfare as a research participant in this study (REB#18-05-022), please contact: 


Director, Research Ethics, University of Guelph

 

Phone: 519-824-4120 x56606   

reb@uoguelph.ca

 

If you have any questions regarding i2i or the study as a whole, please contact:

 

Dr. Carla Rice, Principal Researcher

Re•Vision Centre for Art and Social Justice

University of Guelph

519-824-4120 x56951   

carlar@uoguelph.ca


Dr. Donna Lero, Co-Principal Researcher, 

University of Guelph  

dlero@uoguelph.ca

 

 

This project has been reviewed by the Research Ethics Board for compliance with federal guidelines for research involving human participants (REB#18-05-022).

 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time and consideration. Please print the consent form by clicking the button below.

 

 

 

 

Consent to participate.

 Having read the above, I understand that by clicking the “Yes” button below, I agree to take part in this study under the terms and conditions outlined above.  I understand that I can withdraw at any time by deleting my responses and closing my web browser.