02/08/2025
I decided to cut and paste this for those who may be interested.
Dear Legions,
My name is Vanessa Parise , and I am a Research Assistant with the Trauma and Recovery Research Unit at McMaster University. Our team’s research is focused on understanding how people are affected by traumatic experiences, and on developing and testing new programs and strategies to help reduce the impact of those traumatic experiences.
We are actively seeking to recruit military veterans and public safety personnel who may be experiencing symptoms of trauma or traumatic stress for a research study and would greatly appreciate your assistance with this matter.
The aim of this research study is to investigate the effectiveness of a 5-week psychoeducational program called ‘Sensory Strategies Education’ (SENSE) for (1) improving symptoms associated with traumatic stress and (2) increasing the range of sensory experiences that someone is able to tolerate. More information about the study is included below:
Study Title: Randomized controlled trial investigating the feaSibility and Efficacy of a Novel Sensory-based psychoEducation program for military veterans and public safety personnel with PostTraumatic Stress Injury (SENSE-PTSI)
REB #: 13743
Brief Description: This study compares receiving 5 weeks of SENSE to being placed on a waitlist for the same period of time. SENSE is delivered virtually (via Zoom for Healthcare) in a group setting – in other words, a group of 4-8 participants will meet with two facilitators once a week for 5 weeks. Study assessments are also complete virtually (via Zoom for Healthcare and online task/survey platforms).
How to Reach Out: Interested individuals who would like to learn more are invited to complete a consent-to-contact form and eligibility screener by following this link: https://redcap.link/sense-ptsi-screener. These forms take approximately 20 minutes to complete. These forms are just the first step in the process and do not obligate individuals to participate in the study. After completing the forms, a member of our research team will contact interested individuals to discuss their eligibility, answer any questions, and, if relevant, provide information about the next steps.
We would greatly appreciate your assistance in helping us reach potential participants within your networks. Specifically, it would be tremendously helpful if our recruitment materials (which are attached to this email) can be made visible to as many individuals as possible. These materials can be distributed in a variety of ways, including but not limited to websites, social media, newsletters, user forums, or email listservs. If you would like physical copies of these flyers that can be put up in common areas such as elevators or break rooms, please let us know and we will be happy to mail those to you.
Please note that participation in these studies is entirely voluntary, and participant wellbeing is our top priority. We kindly ask that you distribute the materials in a manner that emphasizes this, without creating any expectation or pressure to participate.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need additional information.
Thank you so much for assisting our recruitment efforts – we are truly grateful and appreciate your support!
Sincerely,
Vanessa Parise
Research Assistant
McKinnon Trauma and Recovery Research Unit
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
sense@mcmaster.ca
647-551-2701
