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Privacy Policy
L.A. FANS is strongly committed to protecting participants' privacy. Because participants trust us with the information they provide, we bend over backwards to make sure that the privacy and confidentiality is maintained and protected. Everyone involved in L.A.FANS, including interviewers, health technicians, and researchers are regularly trained and certified on strict rules and procedures to protect privacy and confidentiality.
For example, interviewers never discuss the answers participants gave during interviews with anyone else. They are also never allowed to identify participants by name or tell anyone (except other project staff) which addresses they are visiting or which neighborhoods they are working in. Information is stored in restricted computer files which cannot be accessed by anyone outside the project. Researchers working on the project do not have access to information on participants' names or addresses.
As an extra layer of protection, L.A.FANS is reviewed regularly by three independent committees (at RAND, UCLA, and RTI) who are in charge of protecting the rights and privacy of participants in research studies. These committees thoroughly review and assess the adequacy of all aspects of L.A.FANS procedures. They must approve all procedures before we begin to interview participants and they monitor our performance throughout the study.
L.A.FANS has also obtained a Certificate of Confidentiality from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This Certificate legally protects L.A.FANS and participants from any efforts to obtain participants' answers or information.
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