Dear Editor:

On Feb. 5, Burnaby NOW published an article ('Passive consent' triggers complaint) about a letter sent home to parents to gain passive consent for the Early Development Instrument survey, a study on the education, development and health of kindergarten-aged children. The article raised concerns about privacy issues, the amount of information parents receive about the study and the use of passive consent, which is the ability for researchers to use a student's information unless a parent opts out.

Passive consent, used in a study by researchers with the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), a research consortium of universities based at the University of British Columbia, is a well-established research method for population level surveys. To gain approval to use passive consent, the research must comply with provincial legislation, multiple privacy safeguards and security regulations, and strict standards established by the university.

The parent information letter clearly conveys the details of the information collected, how it is used, who has access to the data and how it is linked to other data. It is explained using simple language and is available in nine languages. Parents are given four weeks to request further information or to opt out of the survey, which is filled out by kindergarten teachers. HELP trains teachers to work with parents to ensure that they comprehend the nature of the project and understand that their children's participation is voluntary.

Research conducted by HELP provides important insight into the health and well-being of children and informs family policy in this area. Information from this long-term study has already driven the development of more than 500 initiatives to support children and families across the province, including the development of Strong Start centres, neighbourhood hubs, Welcome to Kindergarten programs and family literacy programs, among others.

UBC's research ethics review board has thoroughly reviewed the methodology of the study and is satisfied that passive consent has been used appropriately by researchers at HELP. In 10 years of data collection, HELP has never experienced a breach of privacy.

The ethics board has received Ms. Helen Ward's letter requesting more information and will respond to her concerns in a timely manner.

Dr. John Hepburn, vice-president research and international, University of British Columbia