PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET
Study on the Educational Potential of Disbiotik
You are invited to take part in a study aimed at evaluating whether an educational card game about the gut microbiota, called Disbiotik, can help improve people's knowledge and awareness of the gut microbiota.
Before deciding whether you would like to participate, we recommend that you read the following information carefully.
What does the study involve?
If you decide to participate:
You will complete a short questionnaire about the gut microbiota before playing.
You will play a game of Disbiotik.
You will complete a second questionnaire after playing.
Each questionnaire takes approximately less than one minute to complete.
You do not need any prior knowledge about the gut microbiota to participate.
Who can participate?
The study is open to people of any age.
For participants under the age of 14, consent to participate and to the processing of their data must be provided by their parent or legal guardian.
Participation by a minor must always be voluntary and take place with the knowledge and supervision of their parent or legal guardian.
Is participation compulsory?
No. Participation is completely voluntary.
You may choose not to participate or withdraw from the study at any time, without having to provide a reason and without any academic, professional or other consequences.
If you take part in the activity at an educational institution, your decision to participate or not participate will have no effect on your grades or on your relationship with the institution or its teaching staff.
Are there any risks or benefits associated with participating?
Participation only involves completing questionnaires and playing an educational game.
No medical procedures, diagnostic tests or health interventions are involved, and therefore no significant risks associated with participation are anticipated.
Participation may help increase your knowledge of the gut microbiota. In addition, the information collected will allow us to evaluate the educational potential of Disbiotik and may contribute to the development of new tools for science communication and education.
No financial compensation is offered for participating in the study.
What data will be collected?
Only the data necessary to conduct the study will be collected:
age;
gender;
educational level;
whether your studies are related to life sciences or healthcare;
answers to questions about the gut microbiota;
evaluation of the game and any voluntary comments.
A participant code will also be used to link your responses before and after playing the game.
The questionnaires will not request directly identifying information such as your name, surname, national identification number, address or telephone number.
The participant code must not contain information that could directly identify you.
The results will be analysed together with those of the other participants.
What will the data be used for?
The data will be used exclusively to:
evaluate the educational potential of Disbiotik;
scientifically analyse the results of the study;
prepare scientific publications;
present the results at conferences or scientific meetings;
communicate and disseminate the research findings.
The results will be presented in aggregate form, and no information intended to identify individual participants will be published.
Who is responsible for processing the data?
The data controllers are the researchers jointly conducting the study:
Anna Carrera-Salinas
Jairo Robla
Lucía Saiz-Escobedo
The researchers jointly determine the purposes and means of processing the study data.
Contact email:
disbiotik@gmail.com
What is the legal basis for processing the data?
The processing of personal data is based on the participant's consent, in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
When the participant is under the age of 14, consent must be provided by their parent or legal guardian.
Consent may be withdrawn at any time without affecting the lawfulness of any processing carried out before its withdrawal.
How long will the data be retained?
The data will be retained for as long as necessary to complete the study, analyse the results and communicate the scientific findings, and for a maximum of 10 years from the end of data collection.
After this period, personal data will either be deleted or irreversibly anonymised.
Data that have been fully anonymised, so that it is no longer reasonably possible to identify individual participants, may subsequently be retained for scientific purposes and for the verification and reproducibility of the results.
Who will have access to the data?
Access to the study data will be limited to the research team and, when necessary for the conduct or evaluation of the study, to individuals or organisations authorised for this purpose.
The data will not be sold or used for commercial or advertising purposes.
The data may be processed using the technological tools used to conduct and store the questionnaires, in accordance with the applicable data protection conditions and safeguards of those tools.
What are your rights regarding your data?
While the data can still be linked to your participation, you may exercise the rights applicable under data protection legislation, including the rights to:
access;
rectification;
erasure;
restriction of processing;
data portability, where applicable;
withdrawal of consent.
To exercise these rights or ask any questions regarding the processing of your data, please contact:
In order to locate your responses, you may need to provide your participant code.
Once the data have been irreversibly anonymised and can no longer be linked to a specific individual, it will no longer be possible to identify and withdraw an individual participant's responses.
If you believe that your personal data have not been processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, you may lodge a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, AEPD).
What will happen to the results?
The results will be used to evaluate whether Disbiotik improves knowledge and awareness of the gut microbiota.
The findings may be used in scientific publications, conferences and other science communication or outreach activities.
The information will be presented in aggregate form, without identifying individual participants.
Who can I contact if I have any questions?
If you have any questions about the study, your participation or the processing of your data, you can contact the researchers responsible for the study:
Anna Carrera-Salinas
Jairo Robla
Lucía Saiz-Escobedo
Email:
disbiotik@gmail.com
Consent to participate
Before starting the questionnaire, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and understood this Participant Information Sheet and that you voluntarily agree to participate in the study.
Where legally required, this consent must be provided by the participant's parent or legal guardian.
(Version 1.0; September 2026)