Information we hold

The Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the University of Kent use personal information to conduct research.

Personal information that may be held:

  • Name, address, contact details and date of birth
  • Characteristics (such as gender, age, ethnic group)
  • Relevant medical information

How your information may be used

When you agree to take part in a research study, we will use your data in the ways needed to conduct and analyse the research study.

The University Charter sets out that ‘the objects of the University are to advance education and disseminate knowledge by teaching, scholarship and research for the public benefit’ (paragraph 3).

Health and care research should serve the public interest, which means that we have to demonstrate that our research serves the interests of society as a whole.  We do this by following the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research.

Who the information may be shared with

Personal data will not be shared without consent from participants.

How long data is stored

We are committed to only keeping personal data for the minimum time necessary to fulfil research purposes. Personal data that is no longer required will be destroyed securely.

https://www.kent.ac.uk/infocompliance/rm/rmpolicy.html

Your rights and complaint processes

Your rights to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. If you withdraw from the study, we will keep the information about you that we have already obtained. To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personal information possible.

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Created: 24 July 2018

Review date 17th January 2024

See also our cookie information page.