Do you help an adult with a mental illness and want to share how being a helper has affected your emotions

Study Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the emotional well-being of helpers for individuals with
persistent mental illness.

Participant Criteria
Helpers must be at least 21 years of age and reside in Tennessee. The helper needs to report being the
primary/main helper for at least six months to an adult over 18 years of age with a mental illness. The helpers
and individuals with a mental illness need to be able to read, write, speak, and understand English, have
internet access, and be willing to download and use the Zoom application. Individuals will not qualify for this
study if they are professional caregivers, such as nurses and nurse aides, or are caring for someone with a
neurocognitive disorder like dementia or a neurodevelopmental disorder like attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder or autism spectrum disorder.

Participant Activities
The helper and the individual with persistent mental illness will need to consent for the helper to participate in
the study during a nonrecorded video session with an investigator. The helper will then be able to complete
about one hour of surveys online, for which they will receive a $15 Walmart gift card. An investigator may
contact the helper again for an audio-video recorded interview based on their survey responses to allow for
variation in interview participants. Upon completing the one-hour interview, helpers will receive a $20 Walmart
gift card. Half or less of the helpers completing surveys will be invited to participate in interviews.

Contact
Anyone interested in participating in this study may contact the Primary Investigator (PI), Amanda Matthaei, BSN, RN, by email at [email protected] or via phone at 615.351.8878.

This study is funded by the Tennessee Nurses Foundation. Amanda Matthaei, BSN, RN is a PhD nursing student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dissertation chair and supervising research professor is Mona Newsome Wicks, PhD, RN, FAAN.