Research Study: Cancer, Birth Defects, and Firefighters’ Children (copy)

Dear OPFFA members,

My name is Alexis Bowman, and I am an undergraduate student at Queen’s University in the Faculty of Health Sciences. I am being supervised for this study by Dr. Nikki Philbrook. Dr. Kenneth Kunz will be acting as our consultant for this study.

I am contacting you to see if you are interested in participating in a study titled “Cancer, Birth Defects and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the Children of Firefighters”. You are being invited as the OPFFA has identified you as a current professional firefighter. Our goal is to examine trends in cancer, birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders in the children of firefighters to better understand the trends, risks, and impacts of these conditions on firefighters and their families.

Please note that the survey is anonymous, and the OPFFA and research team will be unaware of who has participated or chosen not to participate.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete a brief, 20-minute survey regarding your and your partner’s health histories, firefighting histories, and lifestyle factors as well as the health outcomes of your children using an anonymous survey through the virtual platform Qualtrics. Participation in this study is voluntary and anonymous. To participate in this study, please access the link at the bottom of this email to be directed to the survey on the Qualtrics site.

If you are interested in more information about the study, please feel free to contact me, Alexis Bowman, BHSc ‘25, Principal Investigator, at [email protected] at any time.

This study has received ethical approval by the Queen’s University General Research Ethics Board.

Survey Link: https://queensu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0JS3AOwvhsnVhX0