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approved in Crown Health Agencies”, they are English, Māori and sign. The omission
of not offering the survey in Māori as had been done in the Youth2000 and Youth’07
surveys is acknowledged, but given the small number of potential participants and the
costs involved, translation into Māori was not deemed achievable in this instance.
Simon Denny, principle investigator for Youth’07, when asked the percentage of those
completing the Youth2000 and Youth’07 surveys in Māori said “We weren’t able to
collect this information. Our sense from talking with the survey teams was that it was
very small outside of the wharekura settings” (personal communication, February 22,
2010).
In response to an initial poor participation in the survey, the recruitment process
was amended to include a phone call to check an invitation to participate had been
received and the young person had the means to do so, i.e. had access to the internet, a
computer, and privacy. An amendment was submitted to the Upper South B Regional
Ethics Committee and approved in September 2009 to permit eligible participants to be
contacted by a third party, specifically CanTeen and Child Cancer Foundation support
staff.
3.13 Voluntary participation and informed consent
The information sheet clearly stated that participation was voluntary and all
information would remain confidential. The process for consent of those under 16years
of age was to send the information to the parent/ caregiver with a cover letter explaining
the survey and requesting that it be given to their child if they agreed to their
participation. Consent for those 16years of age and over was implicit in logging on to
the questionnaire using a unique identifier code. The front screen was the consent page
which required the participant to accept by ticking a box before being able to enter the
site.
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