Associate Professor Leanne Brown
University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
University of Newcastle
114/148 Johnston St, Tamworth, NSW, 2340
Ph: 02 6755 3540
Leanne.brown@newcastle.edu.au
Information Statement for the Research Project:
Healthcare delivery for women with diabetes in pregnancy in Australia.
Document Version 2; dated 20/01/2022
You are invited to participate in the research project identified above which is part of Ms Ellen Payne’s PhD studies at the University of Newcastle. She is supervised by Associate Professor Leanne Brown (Chief Investigator), Dr Susan Heaney from the University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health; Dr Megan Rollo and Laureate Professor Clare Collins from the School of Health Sciences at the University of Newcastle.
Why is the research being done?
The purpose of the research is to understand and compare current metropolitan and rural healthcare delivery for women with diabetes in pregnancy (DIP) across Australia. We are interested in the perspectives of health professionals who work with women with DIP, particularly gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
Who can participate in the research?
We are seeking health professionals who are currently involved in the treatment of women with GDM in Australia.
The survey has been provided to health professional organisations and membership bodies for dissemination to their members. The researchers have not been given access to any personal details of the members of these organisations. We are also seeking to interview those health professionals who are currently involved in the treatment of women with GDM in regional, rural and remote Australia.
What would you be asked to do?
If you wish to participate, you will be asked to complete a survey with questions regarding your experiences of being involved in the delivery of healthcare and treatment of women with GDM (as well as type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus in pregnancy) in Australia.
Once you have completed the survey, you will be able to indicate if you are willing to also participate in an individual interview as an extension of this research. For the interview, researchers will be seeking health professionals who are involved in the treatment of women with GDM in regional, rural and remote areas only. The interview will explore in-depth the key areas of healthcare delivery for women with DIP in rural Australia, including details of service delivery, communication methods and multidisciplinary team care coordination.
If you have completed the survey, you are not obligated to consent to an interview. If you consent to completing an interview and separately provide your contact details, the student researcher will contact you to organise an interview time. You will have the option to participate in an interview via an online platform e.g. Zoom or Skype, on the phone or in person.
What choice do you have?
Participation in this research is entirely your choice. Only those people who give their implied consent (survey) and informed consent (individual interview) will be included in the project. Whether or not you decide to participate, your decision will not disadvantage you.
You may withdraw from the survey component of the project at any time without giving a reason and have the option of withdrawing your data up until you have pressed the ‘submit’ button at the completion of the survey.
If this research is suitable for you and you decide to participate in an individual interview, you may withdraw from the interview component of the project without giving a reason. You will have the option of withdrawing your data up until when the interview transcript has been permanently de-identified. You will be given the opportunity to review a transcript of your interview and edit your contribution prior to data de-identification.
How much time will it take?
The one-off survey component will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.
If you consent to participate in an interview, it is expected that interviews will be 45-60 minutes in duration.
What are the risks and benefits of participating?
There are no anticipated risks associated with this research, however, should you find any of the survey or interview questions upsetting you can stop your participation at any time. Should you feel you may be at high risk of distress, please consider not participating in the interview. You can also contact Lifeline on 131114 should you wish to seek support regarding any of the issues raised within the survey or interview.
While it is anticipated that there will be no benefit directly to you in participating in this research, it is expected that findings may provide researchers with a better understanding of healthcare delivery for women with DIP in Australia. These research findings may contribute to improving future healthcare delivery for women with diabetes in pregnancy in Australia.
How will your privacy be protected?
Surveys will be anonymous and stored on the REDCap database, a secure database maintained by the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI). The HMRI REDCap privacy and security information can be found here https://redcap.hmri.org.au/surveys/?s=XXJYFKJYFKHD3PR8. Your survey responses will be collected without any identifying information. If you provide contact details for the individual interview, these details are stored separately to the survey data.
If you participate in an individual interview, the data you provide will be stored securely on the University of Newcastle’s password protected electronic storage system. Data will only be accessible to the research team.
Interviews will be transcribed by the student researcher, and/or using Trint, the automated transcription server. Once transcribed, the transcript will be emailed to you, and you will have the opportunity to edit your contribution. Transcripts will be permanently de-identified following this opportunity to edit your contribution and will provide a final opportunity to withdraw from the study should you wish to.
Data will be retained securely for a minimum period of 5 years from completion of the research and managed/stored in accordance with the University’s Research Data and Materials Management Guideline (see https://policies.newcastle.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=72) or any successor Guideline, and applicable University of Newcastle policy provisions (as amended from time to time).
Access to any identifiable data will be restricted to members of the research team, unless:
- you have consented otherwise; or
- disclosure is required by law in order for us to comply with our regulatory obligations.
How will the information collected be used?
Both survey and interview data will be used in Ellen Payne’s PhD thesis. De-identified data from both the surveys and interviews may be published in relevant scientific journals and may also be presented at scientific conferences or seminars.
Individual participants will not be identifiable in any reports or presentations arising from the project, however anonymous interview and/or survey responses may be quoted.
Non-identifiable data may also be shared with other parties to encourage scientific scrutiny, and to contribute to further research and public knowledge.
A summary report of findings from the interviews will be provided via email to participants once analysis and write up is completed.
What do you need to do to participate?
Please read this Information Statement and be sure you understand its contents before you consent to participate. If there is anything you do not understand, or you have questions, contact the researchers (specified below).
If you would like to participate in the survey, please complete the survey using this link https://redcap.hmri.org.au/surveys/?s=88XRRWTC7LNM4TE4 or see below. By pressing the ‘submit’ button once you have completed the survey questions, you are indicating that you consent to your responses being included in the study. If you change your mind and do not wish your responses to be included in the study you may use the ‘reset’ button at each survey question to clear your responses. If you exit the survey before clicking the ‘submit’ button, researchers will not use any of your anonymous data as part of the study.
Once you have completed the survey, if you would like to participate in an individual interview please continue and answer the screening questions. If this research is suitable for you, you will be able to digitally sign the consent form and provide your contact details. Researchers will then contact you to arrange a time convenient to you for the interview.
Further information
If you would like further information please contact chief investigator Leanne Brown (email: Leanne.brown@newcastle.edu.au) or PhD candidate Ellen Payne (email: ellen.payne@uon.edu.au).
Thank you for considering this invitation.
Associate Professor Leanne Brown Ellen Payne
Chief Investigator PhD Candidate
Complaints about this research
This project has been approved by the University’s Human Research Ethics Committee, Approval No. H-2021-0425.
Should you have concerns about your rights as a participant in this research, or you have a complaint about the manner in which the research is conducted, it may be given to the researcher, or, if an independent person is preferred, to the Human Research Ethics Officer, Research & Innovation Services, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia, telephone (02) 4921 6333, email Human-Ethics@newcastle.edu.au.