Safe Nurse Staffing for Scotland (Nurses4Scotland): A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
You are invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide whether to take part it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Talk to others about the study if you wish. Take time to decide whether you wish to take part.
What is the purpose of the study?
The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 is currently being implemented in Scotland. Scottish staffing law is different to the laws in other countries, and we want to understand the impact of the Act on current nursing standards adherence, staffing levels, work environments and intent to leave. This study aims to establish a baseline for future comparison.
Why have I been asked to take part?
You have been asked to take part because you are a nurse or nursing support staff, practicing within Scotland.
Do I have to take part?
No, it is up to you to decide whether to take part. The survey is anonymous and your responses cannot be linked back to you. If you decide to take part, please proceed with filling in the survey as filling it in counts as consent to participate in the study. If you decide to take part, you are still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason.
What will happen if I take part?
You will be asked to fill in an online questionnaire that will take between 7-10 minutes to complete.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
You have the opportunity to take part in research which will generate evidence on nursing to shape policy.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
We do not think that there are any possible disadvantages to taking part, apart from giving up 7-10 minutes of your time.
Will my taking part in the study be kept confidential?
Yes. All information will be kept strictly confidential as per Art 6(1)(e), performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official duty vested in the Controller by Statutory Instrument No. 557 (S76) of 1993 as amended, e.g. for education and research purposes.
Where special category (sensitive) personal data is being processed the additional bases from Article 9 is:
Art 9(2)(j) for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes
Proportionality and safeguards information for special category data:
a) We only use the minimum data necessary to enable us to meet the research aims and objectives
b) In order to ensure that suitable and specific measures are in place to safeguard the fundamental rights and interests of the participants the project has been through the University’s Research Governance processes which include data protection compliance checks.
Please find our privacy notice here.
Will my personal data be shared with anyone?
No identifiable information will be collected as part of this study. Demographic data is collected to ensure representativeness of our study sample and workplace information will be anonymised for analysis. Anonymised data may be shared with our research partners at University of Pennsylvania to form part of a larger database of information at the Centre for Health Outcomes and Policy Research. You will not be identifiable in any of the shared data.
What happens when the study is finished?
At the end of the research, the data you have provided will be stored with the UK Data Service (see https://ukdataservice.ac.uk/deposit-data/). These anonymised data may be made available to other researchers for further analysis once the results of the research have been published. This would only be after an official request, consideration of suitability for sharing, and subject to a data sharing agreement between Edinburgh Napier University and the researcher requesting the data. The data will be stored for at least 10 years. Please see the following link staff.napier.ac.uk/dpstatements for further information about data processing and rights.
What will happen to the results of the study?
The results of the study may be published in healthcare journals and presented at conferences. As we are not collecting any identifiable data, you will be unable to withdraw from the study once you have submitted the questionnaire. This is because we will be unable to delete data as researchers will not be able to ascertain who the data belongs to. We will make a summary of the results available via the professional organisations where we have advertised the study.
Who is organising the research and why?
The principal investigator organising the study is Dr Azwa Shamsuddin, a Lecturer in Nursing at Edinburgh Napier University. Azwa has a special interest nursing workforce research.
Who has reviewed the study?
The study proposal has been reviewed and approved by Edinburgh Napier University School of Health and Social Care Ethics Committee (REF no: 3573157)
If you would like to discuss this study with an independent person please contact:
Dr Coral Hanson, Senior Research Fellow and School of Health and Social Care Research Integrity Committee Convenor, Edinburgh Napier University email: c.hanson@napier.ac.uk
Researcher Contact Details: a.shamsuddin@napier.ac.uk