University of Cambridge study of public opinion on sharing data from UK health services for clinical and research purposes
ISRCTN | ISRCTN37444142 |
---|---|
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN37444142 |
IRAS number | 268811 |
Secondary identifying numbers | CPMS 44205, IRAS 268811 |
- Submission date
- 13/01/2020
- Registration date
- 17/01/2020
- Last edited
- 20/03/2023
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English Summary
Background and study aims.
This study is an anonymous online survey to establish patient and public views on the sharing of identifiable health data for clinical purposes, and de-identified health data for research within the UK. By health data we mean any information collected about a person’s health, including things like medical notes, blood test results, etc. This may have personal information such as names and addresses attached (identifiable), or personal information removed (de-identified). Currently there is only limited sharing of health data for clinical purposes via implicit consent across the NHS. Recent reviews of public attitudes to using patient health data for research found little research about how acceptable it is to share patient health data for groups with specific health conditions, and that sharing some types of sensitive data (on mental health, sexual health, sexuality, religion, etc.) held greater concern than for other types of data. This study seeks opinions on whether the public holds different views about the sharing of mental versus physical health data, and, in the context of research, about structured versus “free text” de-identified data. It will also seek views about a national consent form, about data linkage for research, and about a national web portal to sign up to be contacted about health research. The study aims to recruit >1000 people over 6 months.
Who can participate?
The survey is open to anyone residing in the UK over the age of 16 (or under 16 with parental permission) who can access the online survey.
What does the study involve?
Completing an online survey. The survey takes about 18-25 minutes to complete but does not have to be completed in one sitting. It does ask questions about the respondent’s own physical and mental health, and some personal demographics, but all questions have a “prefer not to answer” choice.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are potential future benefits to others via the research, but no direct benefits to participants. No risks to participants are anticipated.
Where is the study run from?
University of Cambridge (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2019 to December 2020
Who is funding the study?
Medical Research Council (MRC) (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Mrs Linda Jones
laj28@cam.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
Chief Investigator
Department of Psychiatry
University of Cambridge
Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute
Sir William Hardy Building
Downing Site
Cambridge
CB2 3EB
United Kingdom
0000-0002-8751-5167 | |
Phone | +44 (0)1223 768501 |
rnc1001@cam.ac.uk |
Public
Study Co-ordinator
University of Cambridge
Department of Psychiatry
Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute
Sir William Hardy Building
Downing Site
Cambridge
CB2 3EB
United Kingdom
Phone | +44 (0)1223 764670 |
---|---|
laj28@cam.ac.uk |
Study information
Study design | Observational; Design type: Cross-sectional |
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Primary study design | Observational |
Secondary study design | Cross sectional study |
Study setting(s) | Internet/virtual |
Study type | Other |
Participant information sheet | No participant information sheet available |
Scientific title | University of Cambridge NHS health data consent survey |
Study hypothesis | Null hypotheses include: 1. The public's views on sharing mental health data will not differ from their views regarding physical health data 2. Their views on sharing will be uninfluenced by recipient type (e.g. NHS, academia, commercial researchers), or their own situation (demographics, experience of mental/physical health services) 3. Their views on sharing structured (coded) data for research will not differ from those on sharing de-identified free-text (narrative) data |
Ethics approval(s) | Approved 20/12/2019, East of Scotland Research Ethics Service (Tayside Medical Science Centre, Residency Block Level 3, George Pirie Way, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, DD1 9S, UK; Tel: +44 (0)1382 383878; Email: eosres.tayside@nhs.net), REC ref: 19/ES/0144 |
Condition | Health data sharing |
Intervention | This study is an anonymous online survey to establish patient and public views on the sharing of identifiable health data for clinical purposes, and de-identified health data for research within the UK. Currently, there is limited sharing of health data for clinical purposes via implicit consent across the National Health Service (NHS; HSC in Northern Ireland). Recent literature reviews of public attitudes to using patient health data for research noted there were few studies relating to the acceptability of sharing patient health data for groups with specific health conditions, and that sharing some types of sensitive data (on mental health, sexual health, sexuality, religion, etc.) held greater concern than for other types of data. In conjunction with the study team's research advisory group, made up of mental health service users and carers, an online survey has been designed to seek public views on data sharing across the UK and the design of a unified consent form. The survey has been thoroughly tested by members of the public, both with and without mental health conditions. Participants living in the UK will be invited to take part in the survey through advertising leaflets, posters and postcards as well as messages for social media. The study team also hope to use the NHS National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) to reach out across the UK. The team will engage with other MRC MHDP-funded university sites and UK charities to promote the survey. Local media (radio, TV, and written) will be approached with the hope that it may gain some national coverage. The study team also have contacts in other hospitals and universities across the UK. ‘Pop-ups’ in towns and cities may be used, as well as stands at local and national events. Participants will enter, consent, and complete the survey online (pilot work indicates that this takes 18-25 minutes). There is no contact from the University of Cambridge study team to the participants, unless they wish to receive the results of the survey or contact the study team directly themselves. Once the survey has been completed by the participant, their involvement in the study ends. For one question in the survey, the team have superimposed a randomised intervention, namely a framing statement, prior to seeking views relating to the sharing of mental versus physical health data. The framing statement will be one of three: a "security" framing emphasising previous work reporting others' greater concerns about sharing mental health data versus other kinds of health data; a "neutral" statement; and a "holistic" framing emphasising the interrelationship between mental and physical illness. Randomisation to the three framing statements will be in a 1:1:1 ratio, without stratification. The study team hope to complete the survey over 6 months with an aim to produce the final report within 3 months of the study closing. |
Intervention type | Other |
Primary outcome measure | Views on how health data may be shared across the UK, how these are related to demographic variables, and how opinions on sharing mental versus physical health data are affected by the framing of risk versus benefit. All preferences in relation to data sharing will be measured using Likert-style scales, yielding interval/ordinal data on preferences (e.g. "very unlikely to share"/"strongly disagree" through to "very likely to share"). Self-reported overall degree of support for: 1. Sharing physical health data for NHS clinical care without explicit consent each time, and how far such sharing should extend 2. Likewise for mental health data 3. Sharing de-identified structured physical health data for research without explicit consent, and how far such sharing should extend (e.g. NHS, academic, charities, industry, publicly) 4. Likewise for mental health data 5. As for 3 but with de-identified free text data 6. As for 4 but with de-identified free text data Measured using an online survey at a single timepoint |
Secondary outcome measures | Views on the design of a national consent form and on whether there should be a separate national web portal for mental health research as well as views on data linkage. Secondary measures will include: 1. The effect of the framing interventions 2. The degree of support for a single national sign-up mechanism for sharing one's health data for clinical care and/or research 3. Views on a prototype national NHS data sharing consent form 4. Views on trusted-third-party linkages between health data and a range of other UK state-held data sources (e.g. education, criminal justice) Measured using an online survey at a single timepoint |
Overall study start date | 01/03/2019 |
Overall study end date | 31/12/2020 |
Eligibility
Participant type(s) | All |
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Age group | Adult |
Sex | Both |
Target number of participants | Planned Sample Size: 1266; UK Sample Size: 1266 |
Total final enrolment | 29275 |
Participant inclusion criteria | 1. Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study 2. Participant currently resides in the UK 3. Participant is able to access the online survey |
Participant exclusion criteria | Under 16 years of age without parent or guardian permission (the researchers have put 8 as a lower age limit as one is required; they would not wish to exclude anyone with parental permission on the basis of age but the numbers of participants < 16 is likely to be very low) |
Recruitment start date | 21/01/2020 |
Recruitment end date | 30/09/2020 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- Scotland
- United Kingdom
Study participating centres
Fulbourn Hospital
Cambridge Road
Fulbourn
Cambridge
CB21 5EF
United Kingdom
Castle Lane East
Bournemouth
BH7 7DW
United Kingdom
Trentham
Stoke-On-Trent
ST4 8HH
United Kingdom
Trentham
Stoke-On-Trent
ST4 8HH
United Kingdom
Drayton High Road
Norwich
NR6 5BE
United Kingdom
Odstock Road
Salisbury
SP2 8BJ
United Kingdom
Hermitage Lane
Maidstone
ME16 9PH
United Kingdom
Sutton-In-Ashfield
NG17 4JL
United Kingdom
Treliske
Truro
TR1 3LJ
United Kingdom
Haslingden Road
Blackburn
BB2 3HH
United Kingdom
Charles Hastings Way
Worcester
WR5 1DD
United Kingdom
Shrub Hill
Industrial Estate
Worcester
WR4 9RW
United Kingdom
Skipton Road
Steeton
Keighley
BD20 6TD
United Kingdom
Taunton
TA1 5DA
United Kingdom
Southampton General Hospital
Tremona Road
Southampton
SO16 6YD
United Kingdom
Mallard Court
Express Park
Bristol Road
Bridgwater
TA6 4RN
United Kingdom
4-6 Nuffield Road
Nuffield Industrial Estate
Poole
BH17 0RB
United Kingdom
Derriford Road
Plymouth
PL6 8DH
United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TH
United Kingdom
47-49 King Street
Dudley
DY2 8PS
United Kingdom
Turner Road
Colchester
CO4 5JL
United Kingdom
Fountain Street
Ashton-Under-Lyne
OL6 9RW
United Kingdom
Trust HQ
Duncan Macmillan House
Porchester Road
Nottingham
NG3 6AA
United Kingdom
Avon Way
Langley Park
Chippenham
SN15 1GG
United Kingdom
Queens Medical Centre
Derby Road
Nottingham
NG7 2UH
United Kingdom
Randalls Road
Leatherhead
KT22 7AD
United Kingdom
50 Summer Hill Road
Birmingham
B1 3RB
United Kingdom
Gorleston
Great Yarmouth
Norfolk
NR31 6LA
United Kingdom
Gayton Road
Kings Lynn
PE30 4ET
United Kingdom
Colney
Norwich
NR4 7UY
United Kingdom
Kingsway Hospital
Kingsway
Derby
DE22 3LZ
United Kingdom
Bristol Road South
Northfield
Birmingham
B31 2AP
United Kingdom
St. Albans
AL3 5TL
United Kingdom
Kempston Road
Bedford
MK42 9DJ
United Kingdom
Cambridge
CB23 3RE
United Kingdom
The Point
Lions Way
Sleaford
NG34 8GG
United Kingdom
Bridge Park Plaza
Bridge Park Road
Thurmaston
Leicester
LE4 8PQ
United Kingdom
Meadow Lane
St. Ives
PE27 4LG
United Kingdom
Hospital Lane
Hellesdon
Norwich
NR6 5NA
United Kingdom
17 Beecham Court
Wigan
WN3 6PR
United Kingdom
Torbay Hospital
Newton Road
Torquay
TQ2 7AA
United Kingdom
St Austell
PL26 6AD
United Kingdom
North Manchester General Hospital
Delaunays Road
Crumpsall
Manchester
M8 5RB
United Kingdom
C E M E Centre
Marsh Way
Rainham
RM13 8GQ
United Kingdom
Tatchbury Mount Hospital
Calmore
Southampton
SO40 2RZ
United Kingdom
Runwell Chase
Runwell
Wickford
SS11 7XX
United Kingdom
Stott Lane
Salford
M6 8HD
United Kingdom
St. Georges Hospital
Corporation Street
Stafford
ST16 3SR
United Kingdom
Ashton-Under-Lyne
Lancashire
OL6 7SR
United Kingdom
Bowthorpe Road
Norwich
NR2 3TU
United Kingdom
Wilsons Lane
Coventry
CV6 6NY
United Kingdom
Acre Street
Huddersfield
HD3 3EA
United Kingdom
Union Walk
Hereford
HR1 2ER
United Kingdom
Bury New Road
Prestwich
Manchester
M25 3BL
United Kingdom
Dryden Road
Exeter
EX2 5AF
United Kingdom
399 Chorley New Road
Bolton
BL1 5DD
United Kingdom
Highpoint Venue
Bursledon Road
Southampton
SO19 8BR
United Kingdom
Parkhurst Road
Newport
PO30 5TG
United Kingdom
15 Marylebone Road
London
NW1 5JD
United Kingdom
Headley Way
Headington
Oxford
OX3 9DU
United Kingdom
Shrewsbury
SY3 8XQ
United Kingdom
Moat Road
Walsall
WS2 9PS
United Kingdom
Skimped Hill Lane
Bracknell
RG12 1BQ
United Kingdom
Clifford Bridge Road
Coventry
CV2 2DX
United Kingdom
Greets Green Road
West Bromwich
B70 9PL
United Kingdom
Wolverhampton Road
Heath Town
Wolverhampton
WV10 0QP
United Kingdom
Queen Alexandra Hospital
Southwick Hill Road
Portsmouth
PO6 3LY
United Kingdom
Chapel Street
Chichester
PO19 1BX
United Kingdom
Basingstoke
RG24 9NA
United Kingdom
Withington
Manchester
M20 4BX
United Kingdom
Stoke-On-Trent
ST4 6QG
United Kingdom
Bretton Gate
Bretton
Peterborough
PE3 9GZ
United Kingdom
Warneford Lane
Headington
Oxford
OX3 7JX
United Kingdom
West Park Hospital
Edward Pease Way
Darlington
DL2 2TS
United Kingdom
Bicester
OX26 6HR
United Kingdom
Coreys Mill Lane
Stevenage
SG1 4AB
United Kingdom
61 Glenburnie Road
London
SW17 7DJ
United Kingdom
Higher Kingston
Yeovil
BA21 4AT
United Kingdom
Gartnavel Royal Hospital
1055 Great Western Road
Glasgow
G12 0XH
United Kingdom
Oswestry
SY10 7AG
United Kingdom
Lakin Road
Warwick
CV34 5BW
United Kingdom
Uxbridge
UB8 3NN
United Kingdom
Tatchbury Mount Hospital
Calmore
Southampton
SO40 2RZ
United Kingdom
Rotherham
S60 2UD
United Kingdom
Wigginton Road
York
YO31 8HE
United Kingdom
Bury St Edmunds
IP33 2QZ
United Kingdom
Russells Hall
Hospital
Pensnett Road
Dudley
DY1 2HQ
United Kingdom
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Pk
Brockworth
Gloucester
GL3 4AW
United Kingdom
Victoria Road
Macclesfield
SK10 3BL
United Kingdom
Hensingham
Whitehaven
CA28 8JG
United Kingdom
Raleigh Park
Barnstaple
EX31 4JB
United Kingdom
Witham Park
Waterside South
Lincoln
LN5 7JH
United Kingdom
Barnsley
S75 2EP
United Kingdom
Magdala Avenue
London
N19 5NF
United Kingdom
Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 0QQ
United Kingdom
Aldgate
London
E1 8DE
United Kingdom
Holt Street
Birmingham Science Park
Aston
Birmingham
B7 4BN
United Kingdom
Abbey Court, Eagle Way
Sowton Industrial Estate
Exeter
EX2 7HY
United Kingdom
Sydney Street
London
SW3 6NP
United Kingdom
College Street
Nuneaton
CV10 7DJ
United Kingdom
Wrythe Lane
Carshalton
SM5 1AA
United Kingdom
Williams Avenue
Dorchester
DT1 2JY
United Kingdom
Blackshaw Road
Tooting
London
SW17 0QT
United Kingdom
Guy's Hospital
Great Maze Pond
London
SE1 9RT
United Kingdom
London Road
Thornton Heath
CR7 7YE
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Hospital/treatment centre
Elizabeth House
Fulbourn Hospital
Cambridge Road
Fulbourn
Cambridge
CB21 5EF
England
United Kingdom
Phone | +44 (0)1223217418 |
---|---|
R&D@cpft.nhs.uk |
Funders
Funder type
Government
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- Medical Research Council (United Kingdom), UK Medical Research Council, MRC
- Location
- United Kingdom
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- National Institute for Health Research, NIHR Research, NIHRresearch, NIHR - National Institute for Health Research, NIHR (The National Institute for Health and Care Research), NIHR
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
Intention to publish date | 31/12/2021 |
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Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in repository |
Publication and dissemination plan | 1. Peer-reviewed scientific journals 2. Internal report 3. Conference presentation 4. Publication on website 5. Other publication 6. Submission to regulatory authorities 7. Access to raw data and right to publish freely by all investigators in study or by Independent Steering Committee on behalf of all investigators |
IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be stored in a publicly available repository: 1. University of Cambridge Research Data Repository, https://www.data.cam.ac.uk/repository 2. Available from publication 3. Indefinitely 4. Public, unrestricted 5. Consent obtained from all participants for publication of anonymised data 6. Re anonymisation: 6.1. All e-mail addresses (given optionally for receipt of results) removed prior to final data set creation and analysis 6.2. All free-text data removed from raw data 6.3. Ages pre-blurred to ranges 6.4. All geographic indicators blurred to UK Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) codes (England and Wales), Data Zones (Scotland), and Super Output Areas (Northern Ireland) |
Study outputs
Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Protocol file | version v4 | 19/12/2019 | 17/01/2020 | No | No |
Plain English results | 18/10/2021 | 18/10/2021 | No | Yes | |
Preprint results | 19/07/2021 | 18/10/2021 | No | No | |
Results article | 27/04/2022 | 11/05/2022 | Yes | No | |
Dataset | Anonymised data from a 2020 UK survey of public opinion about sharing NHS health data for clinical and research purposes | 16/07/2021 | 20/03/2023 | No | No |
Statistical Analysis Plan | statistical analysis plan is in the protocol version 4 |
19/12/2019 | 20/03/2023 | No | No |
HRA research summary | 26/07/2023 | No | No |
Additional files
- ISRCTN37444142_PROTOCOL_v4_19Dec19.pdf
- Uploaded 17/01/2020
- 37666_Lay summary of results_18Oct2021.pdf
- ISRCTN37444142_PROTOCOL_v4_19Dec19.pdf
- statistical analysis plan is in the protocol
Editorial Notes
20/03/2023: The following changes have been made:
1. Uploaded statistical analysis plan.
2. Uploaded dataset.
11/05/2022: The following changes have been made:
1. Publication reference added.
2. The total final enrolment number has been added.
18/10/2021: Preprint results added and lay summary of results was uploaded as an additional file.
06/07/2020: The recruitment end date was changed from 30/06/2020 to 30/09/2020.
17/01/2020: Uploaded protocol Version 4, 19 December 2019 (not peer reviewed).
13/01/2020: Trial's existence confirmed by the NIHR.