Generation Scotland Participant Survey on Data Collection [Version 1; Peer Review: 1 Approved, 1 Approved with Reservations]
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Wellcome Open Research 2019, 4:111 Last updated: 28 APR 2021 RESEARCH ARTICLE Generation Scotland participant survey on data collection [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations] Rachel Edwards 1,2, Archie Campbell 1,3, David Porteous 1 1Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK 2MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK 3Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK v1 First published: 25 Jul 2019, 4:111 Open Peer Review https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15354.1 Latest published: 13 Dec 2019, 4:111 https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15354.2 Reviewer Status Invited Reviewers Abstract Background: Generation Scotland (GS) is a population and family- 1 2 based study of genetic and environmental health determinants. Recruitment to the Scottish Family Health Study component of GS version 2 took place between 2006-2011. Participants were aged 18 or over and (revision) report consented to genetic studies, linkage to health records and recontact. 13 Dec 2019 Several recontact exercises have been successfully conducted aimed at a) recruitment to embedded or partner studies and b) the collection version 1 of additional data. As the cohort matures in age, we were interested in 25 Jul 2019 report report surveying attitudes to potential new approaches to data collection and recruitment. Methods: A ten-question online survey was sent to those participants 1. Elaine Douglas , University of Stirling, who provided an email address. Stirling, UK Results: We report a high level of positive responses to encouraging relatives to participate, to remote data and sample collection and for 2. Claire J. Steves , Kings College London, research access to stored newborn dried blood spots. London, UK Conclusions: The majority of current and prospective GS participants are likely to respond positively to future requests for remote data and Any reports and responses or comments on the sample collection. article can be found at the end of the article. Keywords Generation Scotland, participant survey, attitudes to data collection This article is included in the Generation Scotland gateway. Page 1 of 13 Wellcome Open Research 2019, 4:111 Last updated: 28 APR 2021 Corresponding author: David Porteous ([email protected]) Author roles: Edwards R: Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Project Administration, Resources, Writing – Review & Editing; Campbell A: Data Curation, Software, Writing – Review & Editing; Porteous D: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed. Grant information: Generation Scotland received core support from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates [CZD/16/6] and the Scottish Funding Council [HR03006]. Collection of email addresses was funded by the Medical Research Council UK and the Wellcome Trust (Wellcome Trust Strategic Award “STratifying Resilience and Depression Longitudinally” (STRADL) Reference 104036). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Copyright: © 2019 Edwards R et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. How to cite this article: Edwards R, Campbell A and Porteous D. Generation Scotland participant survey on data collection [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations] Wellcome Open Research 2019, 4:111 https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15354.1 First published: 25 Jul 2019, 4:111 https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15354.1 Page 2 of 13 Wellcome Open Research 2019, 4:111 Last updated: 28 APR 2021 Introduction the time of recruitment but were asked for in a subsequent The Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (hereafter recontact exercise (STRADL)14, with 46% responding and GS) cohort comprises nearly 24,000 participants in around 36% providing an email address. All those who shared an email 7,000 family groups, aged 18 or over at the time of recruit- address were eligible to take part in this questionnaire study. ment1. GP research practices in Glasgow, Tayside and Aberdeen No other efforts to address potential bias were taken. provided letters of invitation on behalf of the study team. Participants were asked to recruit at least one family member Our questionnaire, created using SurveyMonkey (San Mateo, to the study. Each recruit then completed a questionnaire California, USA), was entitled ‘Share your thoughts on health on medical history, personality and lifestyle, attended a clini- research’, was sent out between 3rd–10th April 2019. The intro- cal examination, provided biological samples (blood and urine duction to the questionnaire is shown in Box 1. The survey for genetic and biomarker studies) and consented to linkage was sent to all 7,118 GS participants for whom we had email to the routine medical records collected by NHS Scotland. addresses, of which 2,613 responded (34%), the majority (76%) We also asked permission to recontact participants for within a week on emailing. The time taken to complete the follow-on studies and 98% agreed to this. Participants are able to questionnaire averaged 2 minutes. There was no repeat emailing withdraw at any time. A small number of participants have to non-respondents. withdrawn consent to recontact, but none have fully withdrawn to date. Box 1. ‘Share your thoughts on health research’: Survey Recruitment in 2006–2011 was limited by the funding available, Introduction not the willingness to participate. From information given at the Survey Introduction time of recruitment and through maternity records, we know Share your thoughts on health research of a large number of first and second degree relatives of current participants that would add value to the cohort if interested We’re carrying out health research with the people of and able to participate (estimated as >14,000). There are also Scotland. For the Generation Scotland project, 24,000 people from 7,000 families have already shared information about significant numbers of younger relatives who might likewise be their health, personality and lifestyle with us. They have interested to participate. allowed us to link all this information up to their NHS medical records and collect blood samples to look at their genetic Our research to date has shown the value of the family design to makeup. We take very great care to keep their information safe and secure. We’ve learnt a lot already about how health address questions that are beyond the easy reach of much larger risks run in families and about how these risks are affected cross-sectional studies, such as UK Biobank2. These include by where you were born and brought up, your schooling and spousal and household effects as well as parent-of-origin (genetic your occupation. imprinting) effects and, of course, transgenerational effects3–6. We’re planning the next stage of our research and want to hear your views. When originally planning our recruitment to GS, we were This will help us understand what matters most to you and will help us plan our future research. conscious of the added value of birth data and sought to capture this where possible by recruiting in the Tayside region to The survey is entirely voluntary and confidential and co-capture members of the Walker Cohort7 and, at the tail end anonymous. It will take 5–10 minutes to complete. of recruitment, the Aberdeen Children of the Nineteen Fifties You don’t have to be a member of Generation Scotland to (ACONF)8,9. take part, or to have been involved in health research before. Before you start, it would be useful to have some basic Since the end of recruitment, internet access and smart phone information about you use has increased dramatically across all ages and demograph- ics. We have used the recontact mechanism to seek permission to contact participants by email – a third responded and agreed. We started by asking about their age, gender and cohort participation. Cohort participation was queried so that the We conducted various public engagement events prior to recruit- same questionnaire could be used for other cohorts and/or the ment to GS10–13. We have also collected informal and formal general public. Here, we report only on the GS participants. feedback on participant attitudes in the past through vari- We asked seven questions to explore current participant views ous engagement events. Here, we describe a pilot study of on new participant recruitment and modes of data collection attitudes to new participant recruitment and new modes of data (Table 1). Questions 4–10 were formatted in the same five-option collection. For simplicity, we used the popular SurveyMonkey style: Definitely yes; Probably yes; Not sure; Probably no; Defi- tool to conduct the study, posing ten questions to guide our future nitely no. We used a panel of experts in public engagement planning. and Patient and Public Involvement panel members to check the wordage and formatting. Methods Participants were recruited to