Can I take part in the study?

My Covid-19 wasn’t severe

Yes, you can take part. We need people to participate even if they had no symptoms, mild symptoms or symptoms that got better. This is so we know how common long Covid is among everyone infected.

My Covid-19 test was negative

Yes, you can take part. We need people who had a negative test to participate so we can compare their health with people who had Covid-19. This will tell us if health issues people experienced after Covid-19 were due to the infection or would have happened anyway.

I tested positive and then tested negative later

Yes, you can take part in the study. We want anyone who had a positive test to participate.

I had symptoms of Covid-19 but never had a test

Unfortunately, you cannot take part. This study is only for people who have had a Covid-19 test. It does not matter if the test result was positive or negative.

I am under the age of 16

Unfortunately, you cannot take part. This study is only for people who are 16 years of age or older.

I am involved in more than one Covid-19 study

Yes, you can take part. Participating in one study does not stop you from taking part in another study.

Participating in the study

Why have I been contacted?

We have contacted you because Public Health Scotland records show you had a Covid-19 test at some point. Our study includes every adult in Scotland who has had a positive test and a sample of people who had a negative test.

How do I take part?

We will send you an invitation via SMS to answer some questions online. The questions take around 10 minutes to complete. You will be asked to do this up to three times, six months apart

If you agree, we will access your NHS records to find out any medicines you take and whether you have been admitted to hospital.

We will also interview a small group of people with long Covid to find out about their experience in more detail.

Can someone else answer the questions for me?

We want the person taking part in the study to answer the questions but if it is difficult for you to use the mobile phone/internet someone else can help you do it.

Can I drop out of the study?

Yes, you can leave the study at any time. You can do this by selecting the option to decline consent at the start of the questionnaire or by contacting phs.ciss@phs.scot.

Your privacy and how we use your information

Can you identify me?

No. The system automatically sends out the SMS text invitation. It is not done by a person. The researchers do not know your name or contact details and cannot identify who you are.

How will my information be used?

The information you submit during the study will be used by researchers from Public Health Scotland, University of Glasgow and NHS Scotland. Your data is protected by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It will be held securely by NHS Scotland and will not be shared with any others or used for anything else apart from this study.

Where is my information stored?

Your answers to the questions are stored in the National Safe Haven. This is a secure data storage facility created by NHS Scotland. The only people who can analyse your data are the study researchers. Your name and contact details do not go into the Safe Haven and the researchers have to undergo data protection training before they can access the data. The study results are checked by someone not involved in the study to make sure that it is impossible to identify anyone before the researchers are allowed to use the results.

You can read more about the National Safe Haven here

Will you give my information to other people?

No. We will not pass your individual data onto anyone else. The overall study results will be published but it will be impossible to identify any individual people from these results.

How long will my information be held for?

Your data will be held securely by NHS Scotland for 10 years.

Find out more

If you want to find out more about the study, contact ciss@glasgow.ac.uk.

Get in touch

If you have any questions you can contact us at

ciss@glasgow.ac.uk

If you wish to speak to someone not connected with the project, you can contact

ihw-query@glasgow.ac.uk

If you have symptoms that worry you, please contact your GP.

This study is funded by the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office.