INFORMED CONSENT FORM
Elder Abuse Victim Resistance to Legal Action: Advocates’ Voices
I am Catheryn Koss, a professor of Gerontology at California State University, Sacramento. You are invited to participate in a research study about elder abuse victim reluctance to prosecute or take other legal action and how such cases should be handled.
If you volunteer, you will be asked to participate in a virtual interview that will be recorded and transcribed. The interview will take approximately one hour. If you agree to participate, you can stop at any time.
This study may expose you to minor risks, but they are not expected to be any greater than the risks you experience in daily life. You may benefit by sharing your experiences and viewpoints to potentially contribute to improving how elder abuse cases are handled. You will be offered a $25 gift card regardless of whether you refuse to answer any question or withdraw early from the study.
I intend to publish or present my results. You will not be identified in my results. I will protect your identity by (1) grouping responses/using pseudonyms, (2) storing collected information in a protected location, and (3) removing identifiers as early as possible. Information that can identify you will be deleted or removed from the data after a year. The de-identified data will be kept in a secure location and may be used for other research studies. I will keep de-identified transcripts for at least three years post-publication.
If you have any questions about the research, please contact me at koss@csus.edu. If you have any questions about participant rights in research, please call the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development, California State University, Sacramento, (916) 278-5674, or email irb@csus.edu.
Your verbal consent indicates that you have read and understand the information provided above, that you willingly agree to participate, and that you may stop participation at any time without penalty.