This survey aims to ask all practicing AHP’s working within the NHS to provide their insight into their confidence to use / support research, their own research skills, and the support they have from employers to engage with and implement research. This feedback will provide crucial information to help influence strategic planning for AHP’s in the future.
The CSP would like as many people as possible to complete this, especially those that do not engage with research at the moment, or feel that they need to further develop their skills. The survey closes on the 30 September.
AHP Research Survey - now open until 30th September 2021
Are you an Allied Health Professional (AHP)? Do you work in the NHS or provide NHS healthcare at least one day per week? Do you care about high-quality patient care, research evidence, and professional development?
The Council for Allied Health Professions Research (CAHPR) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) would like all AHPs working in the NHS to complete an important national survey, whether you are involved in research or not. The survey asks about your research skills and confidence, and about the support from your employer to engage in research activity / use research findings to inform practice. Your responses will provide crucial information to help shape the support needed to increase research skills for all AHP’s. Further details can be found in the participant information that is provided at the start of the survey.
The survey will take about 20-25 minutes to complete and will need to be completed in one sitting. Please use the link or QR code below to access the survey.
Survey link: https://leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/ahp-perceptions-of-research-in-the-nhs-copy
Or click here to open survey
Participant Information
Why are we asking people to complete this Survey?
This is the first ever national survey to find out how AHPs in the NHS view research. NHS Trusts that support, deliver and implement high quality clinical research are likely to provide better care for patients, to have more informed and motivated staff, offer greater career development opportunities, and benefit economically. Improvements in healthcare depend on evidence generated through clinical research. Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) are increasingly expected to contribute to research activity and are well-placed to lead research that generates evidence for their expanding clinical roles. However, we have scant information about current AHP research activity across the NHS. We also know very little about how confident or how well supported AHPs feel within their teams and organisations to engage in research activity.
Who can take part in this survey?
If you are an AHP (see list below) working at least one day per week in the NHS or an organisation that provides NHS-funded healthcare in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, we would love to hear from you. It doesn't matter if you are already involved in research, or have no experience of research at all - we would really like you to share your views.
Who is conducting this survey?
The survey is led by the AHP Research Champions appointed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Council for Allied Health Professions Research (CAHPR). The study has been reviewed by the Health Research Authority IRAS 277676 and is sponsored by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.
What will happen to the information I provide in the survey?
The information you share will be used to provide the first ever national overview of AHPs’ perceptions about their own, their team’s, and their organisation’s ability to engage in different levels of research-related activities. The survey questions also ask about barriers and facilitators, and how confident you feel both in your own abilities, and the support of your organization in enabling you to be involved in research. You will only be asked for information about your work and experience that will be used in the study, and you will not be asked to provide any personally identifiable data. We will keep the information you provide safe and secure. Once we have finished the study, we will keep the data so we can check the results. We may use the survey results to compare views in different professions, healthcare organizations and regions. We will write our reports in a way that no-one can work out that you took part in the study.
We plan to make the anonymised data from this survey widely available according to open science principals so that it can be used by other researchers and can be used to inform future strategies to support AHP research. With your permission, this will include your anonymised data. You can read more about how data from research participants is used here www.hra.nhs.uk/patientdataandresearch. Alternatively, if you have any queries, complaints or concerns, you can contact: Thomas.Osborne6@nhs.net, Research Feasibility and Data Co-Ordinator, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.
If you would like to take part, please complete all sections of the questionnaire, which should take around 20 minutes. The survey starts with questions about you, your work, your current research activity/engagement, and awareness of research support services and facilities. You will then be asked your opinion on:
1. Your own research activity, skills and confidence
2. Support within your team / service for research activity and engagement
3. How well research activity and engagement is supported across your healthcare organisation / Trust
Remember that we want to hear from everyone, whether you are already involved in research or have no research experience.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Your responses will be really valuable.
Chief Investigator, Dr Christine Comer: email c.comer@leeds.ac.uk
Central Study team: Nikki Cullum, Carol Payne, Richard Collings, Alison McCracken
On behalf of the NIHR / CAHPR AHP Research Champions network.
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