Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study

Background The Cord Pilot Trial compared alternative policies for timing of cord clamping at very preterm birth at eight UK hospitals. In addition to standard written consent, an oral assent pathway was developed for use when birth was imminent. The aim of this study was to explore women’s views an...

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Main Authors: Sawyer, Alexandra, Chhoa, Celine, Ayers, Susan, Pushpa-Rajah, Angela, Duley, Lelia
Format: Article
Published: BioMed Central 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47932/
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author Sawyer, Alexandra
Chhoa, Celine
Ayers, Susan
Pushpa-Rajah, Angela
Duley, Lelia
author_facet Sawyer, Alexandra
Chhoa, Celine
Ayers, Susan
Pushpa-Rajah, Angela
Duley, Lelia
author_sort Sawyer, Alexandra
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Background The Cord Pilot Trial compared alternative policies for timing of cord clamping at very preterm birth at eight UK hospitals. In addition to standard written consent, an oral assent pathway was developed for use when birth was imminent. The aim of this study was to explore women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways to participate in the Cord Pilot Trial. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. A total of 179 participants in the Cord Pilot Trial were sent a postal invitation to take part in interviews. Women who agreed were interviewed in person or by telephone to explore their experiences of two consent pathways for a preterm intrapartum trial. Data were analysed using inductive systematic thematic analysis Results Twenty-three women who gave either written consent (n = 18) or oral assent followed by written consent (n = 5) to participate in the trial were interviewed. Five themes were identified: (1) understanding of the implications of randomisation, (2) importance of staff offering participation, (3) information about the trial and time to consider participation, (4) trial secondary in women’s minds and (5) reasons for agreeing to take part in the trial. Experiences were similar for the two consent pathways. Women recruited by the oral assent pathway reported being given less information about the trial but felt it was sufficient to make a decision regarding participation. There were gaps in women’s understanding of the trial and intervention, regardless of the consent pathway. Conclusions Overall, women were positive about their experiences of being invited to participate in the trial. The oral assent pathway seems an acceptable option for women if the intervention is low-risk and time is limited. Trial registration ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN21456601. Registered on 28 February 2013.
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spelling nottingham-479322020-05-04T19:05:18Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47932/ Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study Sawyer, Alexandra Chhoa, Celine Ayers, Susan Pushpa-Rajah, Angela Duley, Lelia Background The Cord Pilot Trial compared alternative policies for timing of cord clamping at very preterm birth at eight UK hospitals. In addition to standard written consent, an oral assent pathway was developed for use when birth was imminent. The aim of this study was to explore women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways to participate in the Cord Pilot Trial. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. A total of 179 participants in the Cord Pilot Trial were sent a postal invitation to take part in interviews. Women who agreed were interviewed in person or by telephone to explore their experiences of two consent pathways for a preterm intrapartum trial. Data were analysed using inductive systematic thematic analysis Results Twenty-three women who gave either written consent (n = 18) or oral assent followed by written consent (n = 5) to participate in the trial were interviewed. Five themes were identified: (1) understanding of the implications of randomisation, (2) importance of staff offering participation, (3) information about the trial and time to consider participation, (4) trial secondary in women’s minds and (5) reasons for agreeing to take part in the trial. Experiences were similar for the two consent pathways. Women recruited by the oral assent pathway reported being given less information about the trial but felt it was sufficient to make a decision regarding participation. There were gaps in women’s understanding of the trial and intervention, regardless of the consent pathway. Conclusions Overall, women were positive about their experiences of being invited to participate in the trial. The oral assent pathway seems an acceptable option for women if the intervention is low-risk and time is limited. Trial registration ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN21456601. Registered on 28 February 2013. BioMed Central 2017-09-09 Article PeerReviewed Sawyer, Alexandra, Chhoa, Celine, Ayers, Susan, Pushpa-Rajah, Angela and Duley, Lelia (2017) Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study. Trials, 18 . p. 422. ISSN 1745-6215 Clinical trials Ethics Consent Oral assent Preterm birth https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-017-2149-3 doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2149-3 doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2149-3
spellingShingle Clinical trials
Ethics
Consent
Oral assent
Preterm birth
Sawyer, Alexandra
Chhoa, Celine
Ayers, Susan
Pushpa-Rajah, Angela
Duley, Lelia
Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study
title Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study
title_full Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study
title_fullStr Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study
title_short Women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study
title_sort women’s views and experiences of two alternative consent pathways for participation in a preterm intrapartum trial: a qualitative study
topic Clinical trials
Ethics
Consent
Oral assent
Preterm birth
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47932/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47932/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47932/