The UK Physical Activity Study

The UK Physical Activity Study

1. Invitation to research 
We would like to invite you to take part in The UK Physical Activity Study. This research project is led by The Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Physical activity is an essential component of healthy ageing, with lower physical activity levels being associated with a higher risk of certain diseases and lower physical function. A comprehensive assessment of physical activity across all age groups can give insight as to how the ageing process can contribute to the decrease in physical activity levels and this can be related to a variety of reported health outcomes. 

2. Why have I been invited? 
Our aim is to provide a comprehensive assessment of current physical activity levels across all age groups and sociodemographic backgrounds in the United Kingdom.

3. Do I have to take part? 
It is up to you to decide. We will describe the study and go through the information sheet, which we will give to you. We will then ask you to sign a consent form to show you agreed to take part. You are free to withdraw at any time, without giving a reason.

4. What will I be asked to do?  
You will be asked to give your informed consent before participating. You will be asked to complete an online health questionnaire and then to upload your physical activity data from your Health app (iPhone), the Google Fit App (android smart phone) or the Samsung Health App (Samsung smart phones) to the study email address.

5. Are there any risks if I participate?
As this study takes place online, there are no risks to you as a participant.

6. Are there any advantages if I participate? 
There are no direct advantages or rewards for participating in this study. However, if you choose to participate, the results from this study will contribute to research assessing the health of the UK. The results could identify groups at risk of adverse health outcomes and to shape government policy with regards to physical activity recommendations.

7. What will happen with the data I provide? 
When you agree to participate in this research, we will collect from you personally-identifiable information. 
The Manchester Metropolitan University (‘the University’) is the Data Controller in respect of this research and any personal data that you provide as a research participant. 
The University is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and manages personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the University’s Data Protection Policy. 
We collect personal data as part of this research (such as name, telephone numbers or age). As a public authority acting in the public interest we rely upon the ‘public task’ lawful basis. When we collect special category data (such as medical information or ethnicity) we rely upon the research and archiving purposes in the public interest lawful basis.  
Your rights to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. If you withdraw from the study, we will keep the information about you that we have already obtained.
If your data is shared this will be under the terms of a Research Collaboration Agreement which defines use, and agrees confidentiality and information security provisions. It is the University’s policy to only publish anonymised data unless you have given your explicit written consent to be identified in the research. The University never sells personal data to third parties.     We will only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to achieve the research purpose. All information collected will be kept strictly confidential. Your information will be pseudonymised with a coded number that will be used to identify all your results and personal details. Your personal details will be kept securely and separately from your results. If we need to link the results back to individuals, this will only be done by the principal investigators and no-one will be able to identify your data from any reports or publications. If you consent to be contacted by the research team in the future, you will receive updates on the findings from the study and you may be offered the opportunity to attend follow-up testing. Your information will be completely anonymised at the end of the study by destroying the link between your personal data and your results. Your consent form questionnaires and data will be archived at a secure location. If you are not eligible to participate in the study, the information you provide will be destroyed.
For further information about use of your personal data and your data protection rights please see the University’s Data Protection Pages (https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/data-protection/). 

8. What will happen to the results of the research study? 
Your anonymous data will be used for health research purposes. Findings will be communicated via scientific journal articles, conference presentations, a website and an app.

9. Who has reviewed this research project?
The Science and Engineering Research Ethics and Governance Committee at Manchester Metropolitan University. 

10. Who do I contact if I have concerns about this study or I wish to complain?
For general questions about the project, please contact activitystudy@mmu.ac.uk 
For concerns/complaints about the project, please contact the Science and Engineering Faculty research officer ethics-scieng@mmu.ac.uk  If you have any concerns regarding the personal data collected from you, our Data Protection Officer can be contacted using the legal@mmu.ac.uk e-mail address, by calling 0161 247 3331 or in writing to: Data Protection Officer, Legal Services, All Saints Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M15 6BH. You also have a right to lodge a complaint in respect of the processing of your personal data with the Information Commissioner’s Office as the supervisory authority. Please see: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROJECT 

We expect you to agree to all questions below if you wish to participate.  

I confirm that I have read the participant information for the above study. Required

I have had the opportunity to consider the information, ask questions and have had these answered satisfactorily. Required

I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time without giving any reason, without my legal rights being affected. Required

I agree to participate in the project to the extent of the activities described to me in the above participant information sheet. Required

I understand and agree that data collected during the project will be shared with collaborators at The University of Sunderland Required

I give permission for the research team in the participant information sheet to contact me in the future about this research or other research opportunities. Required

I give permission for a fully anonymised version of the data I provide to be deposited in an Open Access repository so that it can be used for future research and learning. Required

I am over the age of 18 years and eligible to participate Required