The general idea of having important medical information such as allergies, blood type and serious chronic conditions is parallel to the use of medical alert jewelry and dog tags in military organizations. However, there is some question as to the practicality of tattoos as a medium for this information, especially considering that there is currently no standard design or content. This page will h
opefully serve as a platform for online surveys to study the prevalence of medical alert tattoos and to address whether they have the potential to be a useful alternative to medical alert jewelry. A list of recommendations for a standardized system for design, content and placement would potentially be compiled based on survey response. we also hope to collecting a database of images which would also be useful for later development of training and educational programs for emergency personnel who could potentially use the information on medical alert tattoos to inform patient management. Information on consent for surveys which will be linked to this page is as follows:
You have been invited to participate in a web-based survey study on medical alert tattoos. This study aims to gather information on these tattoos including content, how common they are, motivations for getting them, emergency personnel’s experiences and recommendations for optimizing their use in emergency situations. There are three separate surveys: one for medical personnel, one for patients with medical alert tattoos, and one for tattoo artists. If you fall into more than one of these three categories we invite you to complete all surveys that apply to you. Each survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. Your responses will be kept anonymous: we ask that you only provide general information that cannot be used to identify you personally. For example, Please do not include names of people, hospitals or cities of residence. More specific instructions will be provided in the questions. If you consent to provide an image of your tattoo, these also must not contain information that could be used to identify you personally including a view of your face. More specific instructions are posted on the website. If you provide an image you consent to its use in publications and or training courses, and if you chose to post it on the website you also agree to the terms and conditions of the website (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms)
The risks associated with this study are minimal. While some of the questions ask about personal experiences or preferences which could potentially trigger an emotional response in some individuals, the questions have been designed for information gathering purposes only. There are no direct benefits to completing this study. Potential publications and training programs would however aim to increase awareness of these tattoos in the medical community however, which has the potential to benefit patients with these tattoos in the future. Your participation in this research study is voluntary. You may stop the survey at any time. If you have any questions or concerns about these surveys please contact Alex at [email protected]
Instructions for posting photos of tattoos
By providing an image of your tattoo you consent to its use in analysis, publication and training courses. In addition, if you choose to post photos on this site, you are agreeing to the website (Facebook) terms and conditions (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms). If you wish to provide an image for the study but do not wish to post it on the website, send it in an email to [email protected]. All photos must meet the below requirements to protect your anonymity. Photos must not show content that could be used to identify you personally- this includes views of your face, medical numbers, your name, etc. Views that show only the tattoo and enough around it to show the placement on your body are preferable. If your tattoo contains your name or a personal number, please black out the name or use a photo editing program to erase this information BEFORE posting or emailing the photo. Please see the website profile picture for an example of editing out a medical number. Photos not meeting the above requirements will not be used for the study and will be removed from the website.
