Health Among Runners

Information for Research Participants

You are invited to participate in the research project Health Among Runners, since you are registered for a recreational running race. The project investigates health, injuries, and illnesses among runners participating in recreational races. The aim of the project is to increase the knowledge about injuries and health among runners and contribute to improved prevention of injury and diseases.

The study is conducted as a collaboration between Lund University and the University of Gothenburg and has received ethical approval from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (reference number: 2025-08397-01).

How is the project conducted?

As a participant, you will complete a web-based questionnaire that takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. The questionnaire concerns your health, training, symptoms and injuries. After the race, you will be asked to complete a follow-up questionnaire.

Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may withdraw at any time without giving a reason. You also consent to linking your questionnaire responses with national registers held by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare: the National Patient Register (inpatient and outpatient care), the Cause of Death Register, the Cancer Register, the Medical Birth Register, the Prescribed Drug Register, and the Multi-Generation Register, as well as the Multi-Generation Register and the LISA* database held by Statistics Sweden (SCB).

You may also be contacted at a later stage if the researchers wish to invite you to participate in one of several planned sub-studies within the overall project. Sub-studies will only be conducted after obtaining new approval from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.

*Longitudinal Integrated Database for Health Insurance and Labour Market Studies

Possible consequences and risks of participation

There are no known risks associated with completing the questionnaire. Some questions may be perceived as personal, however, you may choose whether or not to answer them. If the questionnaire raises questions or concerns about your health, you are advised to contact your primary healthcare centre or 1177 (Swedish national healthcare advice line) for guidance.

What happens to your data?

The project will collect and register information about your health, training, and symptoms based on the questionnaire you complete. Your data will be processed in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). All data will be securely stored on servers at Lund University and will only be accessible to the research team.

The results will be reported at group level, meaning that you as an individual cannot be identified. The purpose of processing personal data is to carry out the research study and to analyse associations between running, health, and injuries.

You have the right to access the data processed about you and to request correction of any inaccurate information. If you have questions regarding the processing of your personal data, you may contact the Data Protection Officer at Lund University at dataskyddsombud@lu.se, telephone: +46 (0)46 222 00 00.

If you are dissatisfied with how your personal data is processed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY), the supervisory authority: Box 8114, SE-104 20 Stockholm, email: imy@imy.se, www.imy.se.

How will I receive information about the results?

The results of the research project will be published in scientific journals and presented at group level. If you wish to receive a summary of the results, you may contact the responsible researchers. No individual analysis results will be provided unless special reasons apply.

Insurance and compensation

As a token of appreciation for your participation, you will be entered into a prize draw for running-related products worth approximately SEK 1,500. No additional insurance or other financial compensation is included as part of the study. Some runners may have separate insurance coverage for recreational races. If questions arising from the questionnaire lead a participant to seek medical care, the Swedish Patient Insurance scheme applies.

Voluntary participation and consent

Participation is entirely voluntary. You may withdraw your participation at any time without giving a reason and without any negative consequences.

By clicking the button “I consent”, you confirm that you have read the information above and agree to participate in the study. You will then be redirected to the questionnaire.

Project investigators

Ida Lindman, Associate professor, Gothenburg university

Amanda Lahti, postdoctoral, Lund university