How GP practices in the UK have engaged with electronic consultations and the extent to which these have become embedded in daily routine practice

How GP practices in the UK have engaged with electronic consultations and the extent to which these have become embedded in daily routine practice


Participant Information Sheet


Study title: How GP practices in the UK have engaged with electronic consultations and the extent to which these have become embedded in daily routine practice

Researcher(s) Dr Catherine Matheson-Monnet (Principal Investigator), Senior Research Fellow, Cindy Brooks, Research Fellow, Richard Guerrero-Luduena, Senior Research Fellow, University of Southampton              

Background

You are being invited to take part in the above research study undertaken by the Centre for Implementation Science at the University of Southampton.

To help you decide whether you would like to take part or not, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please read the information below carefully and ask questions if anything is not clear or you would like more information before you decide to take part in this research.  You may like to discuss it with others, but it is up to you to decide whether or not to take part.

The University of Southampton Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences has reviewed and approved this study [ERGO 52855]. This study does not require NHS approval.

What is the study about?

The aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of how GP practices in the UK have engaged with electronic consultations and the extent to which these have become embedded in daily routine practice which involves identifying enabling and restricting factors or benefits and barriers to the implementation of electronic consultations in your GP practice.

Why have I been asked to participate?

You have been asked to participate because are aged 18 or over, work in a GP practice in the UK and are involved in implementing and processing electronic consultations. Participating in the evaluation is voluntary and will enable you to share your experience of using e-consults and make suggestions for improvement.

What will happen to me if I take part?

You will be asked to complete an anonymous survey (either online which was circulated via social media or printed which was circulated via a Wessex AHSN or CIS related event) about your experience of being involved in implementing and processing electronic consultations. You will have the opportunity to read this participant information sheet before completing the survey. Ticking to ‘consent’ box and completing the survey will equate to having consented to participate. Once you have completed the survey, you will be presented with a debriefing statement.  If you decide to take part in the survey, your identity will be anonymous (you will not be named or identified). The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Are there any benefits in my taking part?

There are no direct benefits to taking part. No money will be paid for taking part. However, you may benefit as sharing your experience may be helpful for you. Your participation will also help the study team better understand how GP practices in the UK have engaged with electronic consultations and the extent to which these have become embedded in daily routine practice.

Are there any risks involved?

It is not expected that the study involves any specific risks. Although it is unlikely, if you do experience discomfort or distress carrying out the questionnaire, you can contact Samaritans if based in the UK and Ireland on 116 123, or by email: jo@samaritans.org

What data will be collected?

The survey elicits both quantitative and qualitative anonymous data about your experience and perspective in relation to implementing and processing electronic consultations. Therefore, you will not be asked for your name. No demographic or personal data will be collected about yourself. You will only be asked for your role within the GP practice in which you work and background questions on the size of the GP practice and the general area in which it is situated.

What will happen to the data and will my participation be kept confidential and anonymous?

Data protection

We undertake to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and with University Policy. We will restrict access to the raw anonymous data to the research team and keep all material securely on encrypted files on secure University servers only accessible through password protected computers and use it only for the purposes of the present survey. In line with University of Southampton policy, data will be kept for a minimum of ten years.

Anonymity and confidentiality

As the survey is anonymous, the research team will have no knowledge of who you are. In order to increase the extent to which you will not be identifiable, we will make sure that for the online survey (e.g. iSurvey or SurveyMonkey) information about the device used to complete the survey (e.g. your phone, computer or tablet) will not be recorded.

By ticking the consent box and completing the survey, you agree to the anonymous disclosure of information shared in the anonymous electronic survey be paraphrased or directly quoted in reports and publications, academic or otherwise, which may be posted on the Wessex AHSN website http://wessexahsn.org.uk, and on the Centre for Implementation Science/University of Southampton website http://www.southampton.ac.uk/wessexcis/index.page.

Your participation and the information we collect about you during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential. Things that you disclose during the survey may be referred to anonymously and summarised using different words or quoted in reports, presentations and publications, academic or otherwise. You will not be personally identified in any published material, but that what you say may be linked to your role and the general area in which you work, although, if applicable, every effort will be made to make you less easily identifiable. When presenting anonymous data for dissemination, we will not combine data sets and/or include prose quotes that make it easy to identify you.

Do I have to take part?

No, it is entirely up to you to decide whether or not to take part.

What happens if I change my mind?

You have the right to change your mind and withdraw at any time without giving a reason. If you wish to withdraw from the study please contact Dr Catherine Matheson-Monnet c.b.matheson@soton.ac.uk [07469 884 267].

If you take part in the survey, as the survey data is anonymous it will not be possible to remove any data about you that has been collected up to the point of withdrawal.

Where can I get more information?

If you want more information after reading this information sheet, you can contact: Dr Catherine Matheson-Monnet, Centre for Implementation Science, University of Southampton c.b.matheson@soton.ac.uk [023 8059 7041]

What happens if there is a problem?

If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should speak to the researchers who will do their best to answer your questions:

Dr Catherine Matheson-Monnet (Principal Investigator), Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Implementation Science, University of Southampton c.b.matheson@soton.ac.uk

Cindy Brooks, Research Fellow, Centre for Implementation Science, University of Southampton, c.f.brooks@soton.ac.uk

If you remain unhappy or have a complaint about any aspect of this study, please contact the University of Southampton Research Integrity and Governance Manager (023 8059 5058 rgoinfo@soton.ac.uk).

Data Protection Privacy Notice

The University of Southampton undertakes research to the highest standards of research integrity. As a publicly-funded organisation, the University has to ensure that it is in the public interest when we use personally identifiable information about people who have agreed to take part in research.  This means that when you agree to take part in a research study, we will use information about you in the ways needed, and for the purposes specified, to conduct and complete the research project. Under data protection law, ‘Personal data’ means any information that relates to and is capable of identifying a living individual. The University’s data protection policy governing the use of personal data by the University can be found on its website at https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page

This Participant Information Sheet tells you what data will be collected for this project and whether this includes any personal data. Please ask the research team if you have any questions or are unclear what data is being collected about you. Our privacy notice for research participants provides more information on how the University of Southampton collects and uses your personal data when you take part in one of our research projects and can be found at https://www.mrc.soton.ac.uk/web2/files/2013/04/privacy.pdf

Any personal data we collect in this study will be used only for the purposes of carrying out our research and will be handled according to the University’s policies in line with data protection law. If any personal data is used from which you can be identified directly, it will not be disclosed to anyone else without your consent unless the University of Southampton is required by law to disclose it.

Data protection law requires us to have a valid legal reason (‘lawful basis’) to process and use your Personal data. The lawful basis for processing personal information in this research study is for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Personal data collected for research will not be used for any other purpose. For the purposes of data protection law, the University of Southampton is the ‘Data Controller’ for this study, which means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The University of Southampton will keep identifiable information about you for ten years after the study has finished after which time any link between you and your information will be removed.

To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personal data necessary to achieve our research study objectives. Your data protection rights – such as to access, change, or transfer such information - may be limited, however, in order for the research output to be reliable and accurate. The University will not do anything with your personal data that you would not reasonably expect.  If you have any questions about how your personal data is used, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please consult the University’s data protection webpage (https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page) where you can make a request using our online form. If you need further assistance, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer at data.protection@soton.ac.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read the information sheet and considering taking part in the study.

Please tick the box below to confirm that you consent to take part in the survey. Consenting will mean agreeing to take part in the survey and for your anonymous data to be used for the purpose of this survey