Taking part in the study

This page has information for people who have been invited to take part in the study.

 

What am I being asked to do?

We would like you to complete two questionnaires: one when your child is 15-17 months old, and one when your child is 22-24 months old.  The first questionnaire will be longer than the second questionnaire.  They should take less than 30 minutes to complete.

What information will you collect from me and how will you use it?

Some of the questions will be similar to previous ones in the Infant Feeding survey but there will be new ones about what common food allergens your child has eaten, when, how much and why.  We will put the answers that you give to the questions in this study together with your previous responses in the Infant Feeding Survey.  We will use this to understand what foods young children are eating when, and if this is associated with food allergy.

Are there any benefits to taking part?

You may not personally benefit from taking part, but you may find it useful to think about what your child is eating and where you get your information from.  The study’s overall findings will be shared with everyone who takes part, so you will be able to compare your answers with others.  The results will improve our knowledge and understanding of what foods infants are eating and why.

Are there any downsides to taking part?

There are no risks associated with taking part in this study but it will take up some of your time.

Is there anything I need to do or avoid?

No, all you need is time to complete the surveys and access to the internet – but we can post you a paper version if you prefer.

Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential?

Your involvement in this survey will be anonymous and kept confidential. This means no one will know you’ve taken part unless you tell them. We are very careful about how we use your information and follow all the legal data requirements.  Data collected from the survey will be stored securely and confidentially and only members of the research team will be able to access it. Personal information, such as your email address, will be stored separately to your responses.

Your information will only be available to research staff and national bodies which monitor whether research studies are conducted properly. Your study data will be anonymised. This means that it will be given an identification number and any identifying information about you will be removed. Therefore, it will not be possible to identify you by name from any aspect of documentation or reporting for this research study. At the end of the study your data will be made “Open Data”.

Open data means that data are made available, free of charge, to anyone interested in the research, or who wishes to conduct their own analysis of the data. We will therefore have no control over how these data are used. However, all data will be anonymised before it is made available and therefore there will be no way to identify you from the research data.

Open access to data is considered best research practice and is a requirement of many funding bodies and journals. As this research is publicly funded, the outcomes of the research should be made publicly available. Sharing data helps to maximise the impact through wider use and encouraging new research.

Where can I find out more about how my information is used?

You can find out more about how your information will be used:

Do I have to take part?

No, taking part in the is entirely voluntary. You can withdraw at any time and without giving a reason. Once you have submitted your answers, it will not be possible to delete your data if you later wish to withdraw from the study.

What happens when the study is finished?

When the study is completed, the results will be shared with policy makers and healthcare professionals, so any lessons can be used to improve food allergy prevention.

The survey responses will be stored on a secure password-protected network, filesystems, or secure physical storage at University of Bristol. Survey responses will be held for 10 years after the study is finished.

Who is funding and organising the research?

This project has been funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR303123) and is led by the University of Bristol.

Who has reviewed the study?

The National Institute for Health Research and the University of Bristol Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee have reviewed this project ([23390]).

Further information and contact details

If you have any questions, please contact the research team at elyfant-study@bristol.ac.uk

If you have any concerns, you can contact the Chief Investigator, Professor Matthew Ridd (m.ridd@bristol.ac.uk) or the Faculty of Health Science Research Ethics Committee, via the Research Governance Team: research-governance@bristol.ac.uk.