Help and Support
Frequently Asked Questions
The purpose of the study is to collect data from people who do not have MS on the
Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29). The MSIS-29 is a validated questionnaire
for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which includes 20 questions on physical
health and 9 questions on psychological health. The questions are typically intended
for someone with MS to respond to, but we would like to collect data from non-MS
populations as well. This will then allow us to compare the questionnaire responses
between the two populations, and understand whether the MSIS-29 is an effective
tool for detecting people with MS compared to the general population. To do this, we
would apply a machine-learning model to the MSIS 29 data collected from both sets
of participants and test the model’s ability to accurately classify people based on
their questionnaire responses. If our model is successful, this could prove to be very
helpful in the development of a novel tool for MS screening.
You were invited to participate in this study because you have previously taken part
in the Great British Intelligence Test (GBIT) study, already providing data as a
healthy individual, and have granted consent to be recontacted for follow-up studies.
This consent would have been provided during the recruitment stage of the GBIT
study between December 2019 and May 2020.
Your questionnaire responses will be analysed in combination with questionnaire
responses from people with MS. We will apply a machine learning model to both sets
of data and test the model’s ability to identify people with MS from healthy individuals
based on questionnaire responses.
All data will be pseudoanonymised so that it is not identifiable and it cannot be traced
back to you. All participants will remain anonymous in all research outputs.
You are free to withdraw at any point during completion of the questionnaire, without
having to give a reason. Withdrawing from the study will not affect you in any way.
Once you submit the questionnaire, it will no longer be possible to withdraw from the
study because the data will be fully anonymous.
We cannot promise the study will help you personally, but you will help our team of
researchers to better understand the physical and psychological impact of MS by
comparing your questionnaire responses to those of people with MS. This study will
also help us understand whether the MSIS-29 questionnaire can be used to
accurately identify people with MS.
You will not receive the study results directly. However, the research outputs will be
used in publications which will be available online.
If you have any questions or require more information about this study, please
contact our support team via email at admin@cognitron.co.uk
Support
For help and support with MS Control Study, please contact Adam Hampshire <admin@cognitron.co.uk>