Connected Communities – participant information video (WP2)
Please note, recruitment for this phase of the study closed in September 2023
During the second part of this study, our team will speak with different people about their experiences accessing and using person-centred community-based support services. There is a short video below that tells you:
- about the study,
- how you could be involved if you want to, and
- how the discussion will happen and be used in our research.
Under the video is the written content of what is said in it (a transcript), in case you want to read it at your own speed.
Information video transcript
| Slide 1 | This short video explains what the Connected Communities project is and how you can take part if you want to. This video can be paused, muted or watched again to help you understand the content. Please tell us if you need this information in a different language to English, and we will try to provide it. |
| Slide 2 | Hi, my name is Jo Weldon. |
| Slide 3 | I'm a researcher who works at the University of Central Lancashire on a project for the National Institute for Health and Care Research. |
| Slide 4 | I'm working with some other researchers who you might meet: Kathryn Berzins, and Danielle Christian. |
| Slide 5 | This is a research project about local support services that use people known as signposters. Signposters link people up with different kinds of help and activities in the community where they live. We're calling this type of work "person-centred community-based support services". |
| Slide 6 | These local services guide people to find support and activities in their community, in the following way: Someone is referred to a service, or refers themselves there A signposter talks with them to find out what help they want or what activities they want to do Then the signposter helps them to access those kinds of community-based support |
| Slide 7 | We want to find out if the way these services are set up is helpful or not, by talking to two groups of people: people who use the service to find local support in their community, and people who work for the service in some way for their job. |
| Slide 8 | We would like to talk to you about what it was like for you to get help, or work with this service. One of our researchers will talk to you for up to an hour about what you think works well, and not so well about the way the support service you were involved with is run. |
| Slide 9 | At the end of the project, we'll produce advice about how these services work best. This will help other people set up similar services in other places. |
| Slide 10 | We can talk to you about the service whenever it is convenient for you. The researcher will offer you a choice of dates and times. |
| Slide 11 | You can also choose where the discussion takes place. We could talk over the phone, or through a video-conferencing weblink (this will be through Microsoft Teams – and you won’t need to install any new software), or if you would like to speak face-to-face we can meet you in a private space at your local service. |
| Slide 12 | We will record your agreement to take part (known as 'consent') before our discussion. To do this you will be read some statements aloud, and we'll ask you to answer yes or no to each of them. This can be done on a written document too where you would write your initials instead of saying yes. |
| Slide 13 | The good things about taking part are: You'll have a chance to share your thoughts about how you felt about using your local support service, and if the COVID-19 pandemic affected your involvement with that service. |
| Slide 14 | You'll also be able to help us to understand how these services work best. This information will be used to help other people set up similar services in different communities. |
| Slide 15 | If you are a service user (rather than someone who works with the service for their job), we will offer you a £25 gift voucher for giving us an hour of your time. It's your choice to accept, but if you already receive any state benefits, you might want to check with a benefits advisor that receiving this won't affect your future benefit payments. |
| Slide 16 | The bad things about taking part might be: The discussion will mean speaking with one of our research team for up to an hour. You might find some questions difficult to answer, but we can help you with this by asking in different ways. |
| Slide 17 | It's also OK if there are any questions that you don't want to answer, or if you want to tell us to stop the discussion. And you won't need to give a reason for not answering or stopping. |
| Slide 18 | If you choose to speak to us face-to-face, we will arrange to meet you in an airy space to reduce the risk of COVID-19. We will also encourage using a mask (face covering) and social distancing. |
| Slide 19 | You can say no if you don't want to talk to us. It won't affect how you're treated – now, or in the future. It's also okay to change your mind - for example, if you say yes to a discussion with us but decide later that you don't want to be a part of the research. |
| Slide 20 | In this research study we will use your information, but we’ll only use information that we need for the research. You won't need to share any personal information with us when we talk. |
| Slide 21 | We will record the discussion. This helps us to make sure we don't miss any of the important things you tell us. |
| Slide 22 | We will let very few people know your name or contact details, and only if they really need it for this study. Everyone involved in this study will keep your data safe and secure. Also we will follow all privacy rules. |
| Slide 23 | If you share information with us which gives the impression that you or other people could be in some kind of danger, we might need to tell someone. If this happens, we will try to talk to you about this before telling anyone else. |
| Slide 24 | No one outside the research team will hear your recording. And after we've written down what you told us, we will destroy the recording. We will remove your name from the recording and make sure no-one can tell who you are from the reports we write. These written records of discussions are called transcripts, and you can ask for a copy of your transcript if you want it. |
| Slide 25 | After the study ends, we will save some information in case we need to check it. We will also use some of the information we collect from talking to people to write a report, a guide to help other services, shared at conferences and on a project website. You can receive a copy of the project results and publications if you want, once they're available. |
| Slide 26 | It's your choice to decide if you want to take part. You can take some time to think about this or speak to other people about it to help you decide. It's fine if you have any questions about the research, or want to talk about it with us before making your decision. To do this you can email me, at jcweldon@uclan.ac.uk or by calling my phone number: 01772 89 49 59 |
| Slide 27 | This project has been reviewed and approved by an independent Research Ethics Committee (IRAS ID: 314796). The project is funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration National Priorities Programme for Adult Social Care and Social Work award (project ID: ARC271). |
Other related resources:
- Plain English participant information sheet (version 1.2, 9 January 2023);
- Full participant information sheet (version 1.2, 9 January 2023);
- Participant consent form (version 1.2, 9 January 2023)
