Data Gathering Procedure.

The study begun after the Thesis Title Proposal that had been granted by the
instructors of the researchers and had the permission to do so. Before data collection, the researcher
will subject the study proposal to their Research Instructor. After obtaining approval from the Research
Instructor, the researcher asked permission from the President of the University for the conduct of the
study. With the endorsement to the President of the University, permission was sought from the Dean
of Nursing College to distribute the questionnaires to the respondents. Once permission was granted,
the researcher personally distributed the questionnaires and at the same time conducted informal
interviews with the respondents.

Data-gathering instrument was retrieved once respondents are through answering. Responses were
tallied thereafter and were subjected to statistical computation. Hard copies of data gathering
instruments shall be kept in a locked-cabinet and soft copies shall be stored in a password-protected
computer until the thesis technical panel approved the final version of the manuscript. Upon the
approval of the final manuscript, hard copies will be shredded by a paper shredder and soft copies will
be deleted.

Ethical Considerations. Ethical considerations for the conduct of the study includes obtaining an
informed consent, responsible mentoring, maintaining anonymity and confidentiality while handling the
participants’ sensitive health information.

Conflict of Interest. There is no conflict of interest in conducting the study. The research was conducted
for academic purposes only.

Risks. Risk of their participation was considered minimal. They may experience a slight cognitive distress
when evaluating their level of knowledge and extent of compliance. To minimize this, the researcher
made sure that the items in the questionnaire-checklist were clearly stated and easily understood by the
respondents. Items were translated in the vernacular language. Moreover, the researcher gave enough
time for the respondents to answer the questionnaire checklist prior to retrieval. Furthermore, the
participants were protected from their right to expression and communication under RA 6173 which
provides the proper conduct and the ethical behavior of offices and employees. The researcher adhered
to what is ethical so as to protect the rights of the respondents which can be done through maintaining
the respondents’ utmost confidentiality.

Informed Consent. The purpose, risks, benefits and obligations associated with the study were explained
through the informed consent. The selected participants must be informed with regards to what will be
required of the individual participant, including the approximate time requirement, any known or
predictable risks or side effects, the nature of the trial, whether a placebo is being used, whether the
trial is blinded and so forth. Such information enables the potential research participant to give
informed consent to participate in the particular research activity or project. Participants were advised
of their rights to refuse answering any questions, to ask any questions prior to, during or after the
interview, and to ask that the voice recorder be turned off anytime or that the interview be terminated.

Anonymity, Responsible mentoring and Confidentiality. The respondents were informed that their
names would never appear in the sprinted output of this study; a code names were used to represent
them. The researchers may help the respondents through educating, mentoring and advising. They
were also be assured that their identity will never be divulged and only the researcher knows them
personally. All study instruments shall be kept on a locked-cabinet under the possession of the
researcher whereas soft copies shall be stored in a computer that is password-protected under the
possession of the same. Upon the approval of the final version of the manuscript, all hard copies shall be
shredded using a paper shredder and will be disposed accordingly whereas soft copies shall be deleted.

Right to Full-Disclosure and The Right to Privacy. For the principle of right to full-disclosure and the right
to privacy, the respondents had fully understood the nature of the study, the person’s right to refuse
participation, the researcher’s responsibilities, and likely risks and benefits. The researchers ensured
that their study is not more intrusive than it needs to be and that respondent’s privacy is maintained
continuously, also the respondents have the right to expect that their data will be kept in strictest
confidence.

Community Considerations. Direct benefits from this study will be on the awareness on their mental
health status as well as its outcomes. As to the indirect benefits, this study identified grey areas on the
mental health status. In contrast, 200 voluntary participations will be upheld thus no compensation will
be given to the respondents so as not to elicit false responses from the respondents. Data on this study
could also serve as basis for the Nursing academe to intensify its health education program particularly
in their mental health status. Through this study, knowledge of a variety of interventions allows health
practitioners to collaborate with students in selecting the best therapeutic approach for a specific
situation.