KASPR Research

Participant Information and Privacy Notice

Professional Content Validity and Comprehensibility Study

Study reference: KASPR-CV-2026-01
Research organisation: Freespace Training Consultancy Ltd
Principal investigator: Philip Harris
Website: www.kaspr.online
Document version: 1.0 | October 2026

1. About the research

Freespace Training Consultancy Ltd is undertaking a study to evaluate the content, clarity and relevance of two ketamine-specific assessment and outcome tools.

KASPR (Ketamine Assessment, Screening & Progression Risk) is a structured framework developed to support the identification and management of ketamine-related harms.

The study evaluates two components:

The KASPR Assessment is an 11-item practitioner-administered tool covering three areas: exposure to ketamine, drivers of use, and associated physical, psychological and social harms.

The KASPR Change Snapshot is a separate two-question outcome tool designed to capture ketamine-related negative impact and stability in everyday life.

The research seeks independent professional opinions about whether the questions are understandable, relevant and supported by appropriate response options.

Findings will inform potential refinements to the instruments and may contribute to research publications and future KASPR development.

The two tools will be evaluated and analysed separately.

2. Who can participate?

The study invites professionals aged 18 or over with relevant experience in substance use, mental health, physical health, psychological therapies, psychosocial interventions, recovery support, clinical assessment or research.

To support an independent evaluation, individuals previously involved in developing, testing, validating or delivering KASPR are not eligible for the main research panel.

Participation must be voluntary and independent of NHS organisational responsibilities. Individuals participating on behalf of an organisation must ensure that any necessary permissions are in place.

The study does not recruit patients or individuals on the basis of their personal experience of ketamine use.

3. What will participation involve?

Participants will complete an online questionnaire using Google Forms.

The questionnaire presents the 11 KASPR Assessment items and two Change Snapshot questions.

For each item, participants will be asked to evaluate:

Meaning: What they understand the question to be asking.
Relevance: How relevant the question is to its intended purpose.
Response adequacy: How well the available answer options capture the intended range.

Participants will also have an opportunity to identify missing areas and suggest improvements.

The questionnaire includes brief professional background questions and is expected to take approximately 15–20 minutes, subject to final pilot testing.

Participants are evaluating the assessment questions themselves. They will not be asked to score themselves, disclose personal ketamine use or provide information about individual clients.

4. Voluntary participation and withdrawal

Participation is entirely voluntary.

Participants may decline to take part, skip optional questions or leave the questionnaire before submitting their responses. There is no payment for participation and no disadvantage for choosing not to participate.

Once responses have been submitted, it may not be possible to identify and remove an individual's answers because the study is designed not to collect names, email addresses or personal identification codes.

There is no expected direct personal benefit. However, the findings may contribute to improvements in the assessment and management of ketamine-related harms.

Some questions refer to physical or psychological complications associated with ketamine. Participants may stop if they find the content uncomfortable.

The questionnaire does not provide clinical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

5. Research ethics and governance

Research ethics screening was undertaken on 11 October 2026 using the Health Research Authority (HRA) decision tools.

Screening outcomes were recorded for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Based on the arrangements entered into the tools, the results indicated that NHS Research Ethics Committee review was not required.

This screening does not constitute formal ethical approval.

The study has subsequently been refined into a professional-only evaluation. The final arrangements will be checked against the recorded screening outcomes, and any additional governance requirements will be considered and documented before recruitment begins.

The research does not involve patient recruitment, access to clinical records, treatment interventions or the collection of identifiable patient information.

Freespace Training Consultancy Ltd is responsible for the conduct and governance of the study.

6. Information collected and its purpose

Freespace Training Consultancy Ltd is the research data controller.

The questionnaire is designed to collect only information necessary for the study, including:

Broad professional background and experience.
Professional familiarity with ketamine-related harms.
Confirmation of eligibility.
Item interpretation and evaluation ratings.
Optional comments about missing topics or improvements.

Participants will not be asked to provide names, personal email addresses, dates of birth, medical histories or identifiable client information.

Please do not include identifying information about yourself, colleagues, clients or organisations in written responses.

Google Forms will be configured not to request names or email addresses. Google may nevertheless process technical information associated with accessing its services, so complete anonymity across all technical processing cannot be guaranteed.

The responses will be used to evaluate the content and comprehensibility of KASPR, identify areas for improvement and prepare research findings.

They will not be used to assess individual participants' professional competence, make employment decisions, conduct direct marketing or sell personal information.

7. Lawful basis and commercial interests

Where information collected through this study constitutes personal data, the proposed lawful basis for its processing is legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

The legitimate interests are conducting proportionate research, examining the quality of the assessment instruments and improving their usefulness in professional practice.

This basis will be documented through a legitimate interests assessment before recruitment.

Agreement to participate in the research is separate from the lawful basis for processing personal information.

The study is not designed to collect special-category personal data, such as an individual's own health or drug-use history. Any unnecessary identifying or sensitive information included in written responses will be reviewed and handled appropriately.

Declaration of interest: KASPR was developed by Philip Harris and is owned by Freespace Training Consultancy Ltd, which has a commercial interest in its further development, training and implementation.

This relationship will be disclosed in research reports and publications. Findings will be reported transparently, including limitations and areas where questions require improvement.

8. Confidentiality, security and reporting

Research responses will be collected using Google Forms and held in access-restricted electronic storage.

Access to research records will be limited to the principal investigator and appropriately authorised research collaborators where necessary.

Written comments will be reviewed to remove unnecessary identifying information before analysis, quotation or sharing.

Because the professional panel will be relatively small, findings will be presented carefully to reduce the risk of identifying participants through their professional characteristics.

Google provides the online data-collection service and may process information outside the United Kingdom. The applicable processing arrangements, international-transfer safeguards and access permissions will be verified and documented before recruitment.

Information about applicable transfer safeguards may be requested through the KASPR contact page.

Research findings may be published through academic journals, research reports, conferences, professional presentations and KASPR educational materials.

Only aggregated findings and appropriately de-identified quotations will be included in public reports.

Individual participants will not be named.

9. Retention of research information

The proposed retention arrangements are:

Research responses and de-identified comments: Retained for up to five years following the final research report or publication, unless a justified extension is documented.

Original online responses: Normally removed from the questionnaire platform within 90 days of recruitment closing, after secure export and verification.

Research documentation: Questionnaire versions, research methods, consent wording, governance records and analysis documentation retained as necessary to support research accountability and reproducibility.

Anonymised statistical findings may be retained for longer where they no longer identify individuals.

These retention arrangements will be formally confirmed before data collection begins. Research records will be securely deleted when no longer required.

10. Your rights and how to contact us

Where information constitutes personal data, participants may have rights under UK data-protection law to request access, correction, erasure or restriction of its use, subject to applicable conditions.

You also have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests.

It may not be possible to locate an individual response after submission if it cannot reasonably be linked to an identifiable person. Applicable research-related legal provisions may also affect certain rights.

Providing information is voluntary, and there is no statutory or contractual requirement to complete the questionnaire.

No automated decision-making or profiling of individual participants will take place.

For questions about this study, research participation, confidentiality or data-protection rights, please contact:

Philip Harris
Principal Investigator
Freespace Training Consultancy Ltd
KASPR Research and Development

Website: www.kaspr.online
Contact: www.kaspr.online/contact

Contacting the researcher through the website is separate from completing the research questionnaire and involves providing contact information.

Participants may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

This notice applies to study KASPR-CV-2026-01. The version in effect when recruitment begins will be retained with the research documentation. Any material changes to the collection or use of research information will be reviewed and communicated where appropriate.