What It's Like to Participate

• Before You Enroll
• Your First Study
• While You're in the Study
• Ending Your Study Participation
• Research Staff

Before You Enroll

Your first step to joining one of our studies is to call us. We'll tell you more details about the study and answer any questions you may have. If you are still interested in participating, we'll run through a set of questions with you to make sure you are eligible to participate. These questions may ask about your medical history and your current relationship. Any answers you give us are strictly confidential and will never be shared with others, not even your partner. Depending on the study, we may also need to ask your partner a set of questions. We always question each partner separately. Once we know that you are eligible to participate, we will schedule an appointment for you to come in and enroll in the study. Our research assistants often drive out to our different study sites just to meet our participants, so if you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment, or you change your mind about participating, please call us to let us know- you might save us a trip, and you'll also free up that appointment time for another participant.

Your First Study

Visit Study appointments are private appointments where you and/or your partner meet with a Research Assistant. No other people are present. At the visit, the Research Assistant will give you additional information about the study and answer any questions you have. If you decide to join the study, you will read and sign a consent form that details the risks and benefits of study participation. We'll also ask you some personal questions about your background, medical history, and sexual history. Your answers to these questions will be kept private, even from your partner. The Research Assistant will also explain to you how to use the study method and how to complete any questionnaires or diary forms you will be taking home. We'll give you the study products to test at home. And we'll explain how you'll be keeping in touch with us over the course of your participation.

While You're In the Study

Once you've enrolled in the study, we'll want to stay in touch with you until you've completed your participation. Different studies involve different ways of doing this. We may ask you to keep a written record of your method use. We call this a diary, but these forms usually look more like calendars and ask you to mark the days you have sex and the days you use the method. For other studies we might ask you to fill out more detailed reports about specific acts of intercourse. Or we might call you to do a periodic phone interview. Or we may have you come in to see us in-person. Our studies almost always involve in-person meetings with participants. We feel that face-to-face meetings allow us to get the best possible feedback from our participants, but we try to meet the needs of the study without putting a burden on our participants.

Ending Your Study Participation

Any person who joins a study may leave the study at any time for any reason. You do not have to stay in the study if you do not wish to- we just ask you to let us know why you want to stop. If people don't like a method we are studying, we want to know! This is important information for us to collect.

Research Staff

Our studies are staffed by friendly, experienced professionals who enjoy working with study participants. It's part of their job to make you as comfortable as possible. They will explain the study to you in detail and answer any questions you may have. You can count on them to treat you with respect and courtesy. And they also have a good sense of humor!