INQUIRE ethnographic case studies
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN33095169 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN33095169 |
| Protocol serial number | 30642 |
| Sponsor | University of Oxford |
| Funder | National Institute for Health Research |
- Submission date
- 22/08/2016
- Registration date
- 24/03/2017
- Last edited
- 10/04/2024
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
People use the internet to access customer reviews and ratings. Sharing personal experiences on Facebook or Twitter is becoming a part of everyday life. Increasingly, people are going online to give feedback on their experience of the NHS, or to read the feedback that other people have provided. There are websites which invite feedback on doctors or hospitals, and some people choose to tell their NHS stories in personal blogs or discussion forums like Mumsnet. This research is part of a wider study funded by the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research designed to help the NHS to interpret and act on online patient feedback to improve the quality of NHS services. This study conducts case studies in four NHS Trusts in England using observations, interviews and focus groups to see how staff relates to online sources of patient feedback in terms of their awareness and attitude. These case studies will help to understand how staff use patients online feedback, the barriers and facilitators to using feedback to improve NHS quality and what skills are required to benefit from the feedback. The aim of this study is to understand what the challenges might be in encouraging the appropriate use of this in the NHS.
Who can participate?
Adults who are employed by the NHS.
What does the study involve?
Participants are asked to either attend a one hour focus group, face to face interviews, or will be observed at work over a six week study period to explore the use of online feedback and how this can be used in improving NHS services.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no notable benefits or risks with participating.
Where is the study run from?
This study is being run from the University of Oxford and takes place in four NHS trusts (UK).
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
April 2016 to October 2017
Who is funding the study?
National Institute of Health Research (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Professor John Powell (Scientific)
Ms Vanessa Eade (Public)
Contact information
Public
Health Experiences Research Group
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX2 6GG
United Kingdom
Scientific
Health Experiences Research Group
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX2 6GG
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-1456-4857 |
|---|
Study information
| Primary study design | Observational |
|---|---|
| Study design | Observational case series |
| Secondary study design | Case series |
| Study type | Participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | The INQUIRE Project: Improving NHS Quality Using Internet Ratings and Experiences |
| Study acronym | INQUIRE |
| Study objectives | The aim of this study is to examine how online feedback is currently viewed in four NHS case study sites, how online feedback shapes, gets contested and/or mobilised in everyday practices in hospitals, and to explore the potential barriers and facilitators to the use of online patient feedback by NHS staff and organisations. |
| Ethics approval(s) | University of Oxford Medical Sciences Inter-Divisional Research Ethics Committee, 03/02/16, ref: R32336/RE001 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Health services and delivery research |
| Intervention | The INQUIRE study is part of a wider programme of work consisting of five interlinked projects of applied health service research. This study uses in-depth case studies (including ethnographic observations, interviews and documentary analysis) carried out in four NHS secondary care provider organisations. The case studies take an ethnographic approach, using mixed methods including face-to-face interviews, observations of meetings, focus groups, documentary analysis, and researcher’s field notes. Participants will either attend a staff focus group or staff interviews. The staff focus groups include a one hour group discussion to explore the use of online commentary. Up to 2 focus groups may be held in each participating NHS Trust. Focus groups last no longer than one hour and will comprise up to 8 staff members. The interviews (done either as a one off or intermittently) are done with staff working at all levels of the organisation and focuses on capturing the views of managers and those working in quality improvement and complaints handling on online feedback (approximately 10 staff interviews will be done per Trust). Also, observational work is done within each participating study sites during the six week study period. This requires the researcher to work in situ adopting fieldwork role to facilitate the close examination of the day-to-day practices involved in processing user generated comment. Multiple observations will take place and will be recorded by the researcher in field notes collected for later analysis. In addition the researcher will collect relevant documents such as local policy documents. Data (in the form of field note descriptions, documents and interview/focus group recordings) is analysed through thematic analysis and comparative case study analysis. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
Staff views about organisational practices in online feedback is measured through staff focus groups, interviews and observations throughout the study period. |
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) |
There are no secondary outcomes for this study. |
| Completion date | 31/10/2017 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Health professional |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Sex | All |
| Target sample size at registration | 72 |
| Total final enrolment | 60 |
| Key inclusion criteria | Staff who work at the participating NHS Trusts. |
| Key exclusion criteria | Participants that do not fulfil the inclusion criteria. |
| Date of first enrolment | 30/10/2016 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/04/2017 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- United Kingdom
- England
Study participating centre
Block 60, Churchill Hospital
Headington
Oxford
OX3 7LE
United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available due to confidentiality reasons. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | results | 01/10/2019 | 15/10/2020 | Yes | No |
| Results article | 01/10/2019 | 10/04/2024 | Yes | No | |
| Protocol article | 28/09/2015 | 22/08/2022 | No | No | |
| Participant information sheet | Participant information sheet | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
| Study website | Study website | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
Editorial Notes
10/04/2024: Publication reference added.
22/08/2022: Protocol link added.
16/10/2020: The total final enrolment number has been added.
15/10/2020: Publication reference added.
09/11/2017: The ISRCTN prospective/retrospective flag compares the date of registration with the recruitment start date and does not include any grace period. The registration of this study was requested through the NIHR Portfolio and was finalised within 6 months of the recruitment starting.
