Who will be chosen to participate in the project?
1,200 households will be chosen at random from all households in the state of Ohio.
How do I know if I was chosen to participate in the project?
We will send a postcard to the 1,200 randomly selected households sometime in the coming weeks to let them know their household was chosen. We will send a second letter to all selected households 3-5 days before a trained team from the Ohio Department of Health is scheduled to be in the area.
If I have been selected do, I have to participate?
Participation in this project is completely voluntary, meaning that people will participate only if they want to. We do hope you will decide to participate, if you are selected! Your participation will help Ohio’s leaders understand how COVID-19 is impacting the physical and economic well-being of Ohioans. Your participation will help us learn how to protect you and your fellow Ohioans from COVID-19.
How do I “opt out” out of the project?
You can choose to opt out of the project, meaning you won’t participate, and we will not visit your home at all. If you would like to talk to the team from the Ohio Department of Health before you decide if you want to participate, you don’t have to do anything. If you would like to decline participation now, please follow instructions in the postcard that was sent to your home. On the ‘contact us’ page, type in your address and your household number (which is printed on the postcard you received), and let us know that you don’t want any one from the project to visit your home. You can also reach us by email ocap@osu.edu, or phone/text (614)-407-5737.
My household has been selected. What will happen when a team from the Ohio Department of Health comes to my home?
If your household has been selected, members of a team from the Ohio Department of Health will come to your home, explain the study, and invite one adult in the household to participate.
Do selected households have to send in a response to the mailer saying they are interested in participating, or will the Ohio Department of Health team come to all households?
If you want to participate, you do not need to contact us. A team will be coming to your community during July.
If you do not want to participate, please contact us and we will remove your household from the list. On the Contact Us page, type in your address and your household number (which is printed on the postcard you received), or you can reach us by email ocap@osu.edu, or phone/text (614)-407-5737.
How do I know when the Ohio Department of Health team is coming to my region?
Approximately 3-5 days before the project team visits the sampled household, the household will receive a second letter explaining the project in more details. If the team visits your household and you are not at home, the team will leave information and will return a second time.
I have been selected from my household. What will happen next?
The team will answer any questions you may have about the study, and ask if you want to participate. If you agree, you will sign a consent form. Then a member of the team will ask you a set of questions about your health and other relevant topics. Your responses will be kept confidential. The team will also draw blood from a vein in your arm (15 ml, about 3 teaspoons), and will collect a swab from your nose.
How long will the survey take?
The survey will take approximately 10 minutes.
What are the blood and nasal swab samples for?
The blood will be tested to see if you have any antibodies, which show whether the person had COVID-19 in the past. The swab will be tested to see if the person has COVID-19 presently.
What will the study do to ensure the 1200 households selected are representative of Ohio? How are households being selected?
To ensure that we are getting a representative sample of Ohioans, we are sampling from within the state’s 8 geographical regions. We randomly sampled 30 census tracts per region, and we are randomly sampling households within the 240 census tracts. This map shows the sampled locations and census tracts.
How will Ohio Department of Health teams prevent possible COVID-19 transmission between participants and team members?
All team members will follow standard safety procedures to ensure the well-being of those on the project and those being tested. To improve airflow, if you have a location outside your home that is private enough for your comfort, we will do both the testing and the interview outside. If you don’t have a location outside, all team members entering your home will be wearing masks and giving you a mask to wear. Everything that the team will be bringing into your house will be either new in the package or thoroughly disinfected. The team will have wipes and sanitizer on hand.
When will I get the results of my tests back?
If your swab test comes back positive, your local health department will notify you typically within 4 days. The rest of your results will be mailed to you within two weeks of when the samples were taken.
Is there any cost to me?
There are no financial costs of any kind to anyone who participates.
How will my results be used?
Your results will help Ohio’s policymakers learn about the health and economic impact of COVID-19. By using a random sample of households, we can estimate how many Ohioans across the state currently have COVID-19 and how many have been infected with the virus in the past. This project will help to defeat this disease and protect those at risk.
If I have any questions about the project, who can I contact?
Please visit our Contact Us page, or email OCAP@osu.edu
