Operation: SAFETY (Soldiers And Families Excelling Through the Years) is a longitudinal research study focusing on examining the health and well-being of US Army Reserve/National Guard Soldiers and their partners. The purpose of this study is to explore how Reserve/Guard Soldiers and their partners impact each others’ physical and mental well-being. The information obtained from this study can be used to help design interventions that improve the physical and mental well-being of Reserve/Guard Soldiers and their families.
This study is being funded through the US National Institutes of Health (www.nih.gov).
This award was awarded to Dr. Gregory Homish at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Homish is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health & Health Professions Department of Community Health & Health Behavior. He also holds appointments in the Departments of Family Medicine and Pediatrics. He is trained as a psychiatric epidemiologist and has focused his research on the mental and physical health of couples over time. He has worked with community samples as well as specialized samples such as firefighters, police and military.
Each assessment session will include multiple questionnaires that cover the following topics: deployment status, combat exposure, mental health, physical health, recent life experiences, substance use, medical treatment, your romantic relationship, and your social networks.
Phase 1, you and your partner were asked to complete a total of three assessment sessions over the course of 2 years. The first assessment was conducted shortly after agreeing to participate and then assessment sessions were conducted at yearly intervals (year 1 and year 2).
Phase 2 also consists of a total of 3 assessments sessions over the course of 2 years. Survey 4, 5 & 6 each will take place at yearly intervals with Survey 4 assessments starting in March 2019.
We will schedule an appointment for you to come to the State University of New York at Buffalo, South Campus (167 Farber Hall, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214). Some people refer to this as the Main St. Campus. The initial assessment took approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Surveys 2-6 will be shorter (about 60-90 minutes). You will be required to provide your own transportation to all questionnaire sessions that take place at one year intervals. No direct reimbursement for transportation costs will be provided; however, you will be compensated for your time (see below).
In specific instances where you would be unable to come to the University at Buffalo, you will be asked to complete the questionnaires through a secure web portal. A username and password will be issued to you at that time. You will create your own password.
While we would prefer if you come in together to complete the session, it is completely up to you and your partner. If you prefer to come to the appointment with your partner, that's great. If not, that's fine too.
If coming to the State University of New York at Buffalo: You and your partner will be in separate rooms to complete the assessment.
You will be asked to complete the questions on a touch-screen computer in a private room. You do NOT need computer experience. A research staff member will teach you how to use the computer. All responses will be entered into the computer to ensure your privacy.
If completing via the web: Please follow the instructions that are sent to you. You will be provided a link and username. You will create your own password. You can then access the survey and complete it at your convenience.
The confidentiality of your data is of utmost importance. All researchers involved in this study will be trained in confidentiality prior to starting on the project.
The information you give us will be stored on password protected computers in password protected files. No identifying information will be included in the questionnaire. Your questionnaire will only include an id number. Our computer systems have several layers of built-in security procedures to protect your information.
No military chain of command personnel will have access to your research information. We will also not share any information you provide to us with your partner. Additionally, we have obtained a Certificate of Confidentiality from the US Department of Health and Human Services. This certificate prohibits our disclosure of any research information for any reason.
No, as described in the FAQ on confidentially, we will not tell anyone about your responses.
Yes, the compensation levels are:
Phase 1:
First computerized assessment (Survey 1): $60 per person ($120 per couple)
Second computerized assessment (Survey 2: one year into the study): $70 per person ($140 per couple)
Third computerized assessment (Survey 3: two years into the study): $70 per person ($140 per couple)
If you participate in each of the three assessments involved in this study, you will be paid a total of $200 per person ($400 per couple). Payment is in the form of a check.
Phase 2:
First computerized assessment (Survey 4): $80 per person ($160 per couple)
Second computerized assessment (Survey 5: one year into the study): $90 per person ($180 per couple)
Third computerized assessment (Survey 6: two years into the study): $90 per person ($180 per couple)
If you participate in each of the three assessments involved in this study, you will be paid a total of $260 per person ($520 per couple). Payment is in the form of a check.
No, we will not be accessing any personnel or health records. All responses we obtain will come directly from you. Additionally, we do not share your responses with your partner.
As long as you or your partner were an active member in the US Army Reserve/Guard at the time of consenting to the project during Phase 1, then you are still eligible to remain in the study through Phase 2.
Once enrolled in the study, your participation is valued and desired regardless of any possible relationship dissolution.
In order for our research to be the most successful and for us to address our goals of understanding how Reserve/Guard Soldiers and their partners impact each others' physical and mental health, we do ask that participants complete all assessments. We know this may seem like a lot, but the assessments are spread out over year intervals.
That's OK. You do have the right to refuse to answer any question you choose.
You can decide to end your participation at any point. If you would decide to end your involvement, our Project Director may call you to find out why. It's important for us to understand the reasons why someone no longer wishes to participate. We want to make sure you were treated respectfully throughout your time in the study and that if you have concerns or had any type of unforeseen negative experience that we can address it.
That's great that you are involved in research. Our study isn't connected with any other study and you are eligible to join our study even though you are in another study. I do want to tell you that we do not share your information with anyone, including other research projects.
All the responses are stored in a database that contains ID numbers. Your name is not stored with your survey responses and will not be connected to the data. We only report trends that are common across many participants; we never report responses from any one participant. We will present our findings at national conferences and in medical journals where healthcare providers, policy makers and other researchers can learn ways to better provide care for Reserve/Guard Soldiers and their families.
Yes. The Principal Investigator, who is responsible for conducting the research, plans to share the results with participants through yearly newsletters.
Please contact us:
Phone: 716-829-4731
Email: OperationSafety@buffalo.edu
If a research staff member is away from the desk, please leave a message on the voice mail and someone will get back to you shortly.
Your account was set up during your first online survey. Please search your email for the subject line: “Operation: SAFETY – Please Keep This for Your Records.”
Please open the email in your inbox titled, “Operation: SAFETY – Please Keep This Email for Your Records.” Please click on the Login URL. This email contains your username and the Login URL to complete the assessment. We recommend that you keep this email as it contains the Login URL you will need at all surveys.
After clicking on the URL, you will be brought to a webpage that will ask you to enter your username and password. Please enter your 5-digit username that was provided to you in the “Operation: SAFETY – Please Keep This for Your Records” email and the password that you created.
Additionally, you can access the login directly by clicking on “Participant Login” on the project website, sphhp.buffalo.edu/operation-safety
You can find your 5-digit username in the email titled "Operation: SAFETY - Please Keep This for Your Records.”
If you no longer have this email, you can retrieve your username by clicking on “Participant Login” on the project website, sphhp.buffalo.edu/operation-safety. You can then click on “Forgot username / password” on the Login page. You can enter your email address under "Forgot Username" and click “Submit.” Once you do this, you will receive an email titled "Username request for Operation: SAFETY." This email will contain your username with a hyperlink to log back to the survey. Note: If you do not receive the email immediately, it is likely that you are using a different email than what was provided to us originally. Please contact our office so we can update your email address. To contact our office staff, you can call 716-829-4731 or email OperationSafety@buffalo.edu.
To reset your password you should click on the “Forgot username / password” on the Login page. Under "Forgot Password" enter your Username and hit "Submit." Your Username can be found in the email titled: "Operation: SAFETY - Please Keep This for Your Records." Once you hit "Submit," you will receive an email allowing you to click on a link to reset your password. Note: If you do not receive the email immediately, it is likely that you are using a different email than what was provided to us originally. Please contact our office so we can update your email address. To contact our office staff, you can call 716-829-4731 or email OperationSafety@buffalo.edu.
To begin the survey:
You complete the “Consent Form” the first time you log into the website using your unique username and password. You will see “Consent” on the “Home” page. Click on it and you will be taken to the Consent Form. Please read this form carefully. If you have any questions about the information presented, please contact research staff at 716-829-4731 or by email at OperationSafety@buffalo.edu. Once completed, you can print a copy for your records.
We recommend that you use Chrome to complete the survey, but Firefox, Edge and Safari will also work. If you are using Safari, it will need to be the most up-to-date version.
Yes, it is important you complete the assessments in order. The survey is self-guided, which means there may be additional questions included or removed based on your answers. As a result, going in the order that the assessments are presented on the Home screen is very important.
Click “Save” at the bottom of the assessment and the section title should display a green bubble that says “100%” on the Home page.
You can change the size of the screen by changing the zoom level within your internet browser.
As long as you are actively responding to questions, you will remain logged in. If there is no activity for 30 minutes, you will be automatically logged out to protect your confidential answers. Being “timed-out” without having hit “Save” can result in you losing your work. For this reason, please hit “Save” if you are not going to be actively responding to questions. If you do get logged out, please just log back in to complete the surveys.
To log out of the survey, click “Logout” in the top right corner of the webpage. You may also close the browser, but that is not necessary to end your session.