Trustworthy anonymization of sensitive data for remote consultations

Dear prospective survey participant, 

Thank you for your interest in our survey. Further down on this page you will find a version of this text that is easier to understand.

This survey is part of the project VERANDA, where we aim to develop new software for video, audio and text chat anonymization, for use in remote psychotherapy. Our goal is to enable fully anonymous yet still highly effective psychotherapy for stigmatized groups. With this survey, we want to understand the barriers different people face when accessing healthcare, particularly psychotherapy. We also want to learn how we can help you overcome these barriers, by identifying requirements that must be met by such an anonymized solution. By doing so, we hope to discover what we must do to make healthcare more accessible through our technologies. 

The results of this survey will be automatically anonymized and hand-checked for anonymity. The anonymized results will be shared with our project partners (who you can read more about in the long version of this study information) for the development of the anonymization tools. The anonymized results will also be published in a scientific journal.

You can fill out this questionnaire on your computer as well as on your smartphone. For an optimal view of this survey, we recommend that you complete it on your computer in full screen mode. The survey will take 30 to 45 minutes. 

Participation criteria 

This survey is only accepting answers under the following criteria: 

• You are 18 years old or older. 
•  You speak English or German

If you do not fulfill these criteria, we kindly ask you not to participate in this survey.

Version of this text that is easier to understand

Dear potential survey participant, 

Thank you for showing interest in our survey. This survey is part of the VERANDA project. In this project, we are working to create new anonymization apps for video, voice and text chat for remote psychotherapy. We would like to develop a new computer program that anonymizes video, audio and text chats. “Anonymized” means that no one can recognize who the information comes from. This computer program should help to offer therapy via video call and chat. Our goal is to provide anonymous and effective psychotherapy for people who are often stigmatized. “Stigmatized” means that someone is treated badly or rejected because of certain characteristics or behaviors. 

Through this survey, we want to understand the challenges people face when accessing healthcare, particularly psychotherapy. We also want to learn how we can help overcome these challenges by hearing about the features needed for an anonymous solution.

The answers you provide will be kept anonymous. The anonymized results will be shared with our project partners to help develop the anonymization tools. These anonymous results will also be published in a scientific journal. You can learn about our project partners in the longer version of this text. 

You can complete this survey on both your computer and smartphone. For the best experience, we recommend filling it out on a computer in full-screen mode. The survey will take about 30 to 45 minutes.