An evaluation of the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme (PEADP)

We are conducting a rapid evaluation to help inform decisions about the future of the PEADP and similar NHS anti-racism and discrimination programmes. The evaluation is undertaken to understand how the PEADP is implemented and experienced in practice, and to identify how it might be helping or hindering progress towards greater equity in perinatal services. The evaluation will explore:

1. How the PEADP is being delivered, including what activities and approaches are used.
2. What supports or hinders engagement with the PEADP, such as workload, trust, or hierarchy.
3. How the PEADP is experienced and perceived by maternity and neonatal staff, service user representatives and other interest holders.
4. Whether the PEADP is instigating organisational and leadership changes to address racism and discrimination and how these changes could be embedded and sustained.
5. How the PEADP interacts with local organisational practices, policies, leadership and culture.
6. What can be learned about the design, implementation, and evaluation of the PEADP or similar NHS anti-racism programmes in the future.

The evaluation will include focus groups, interviews, and an online survey with PEADP participants and with staff who have not participated directly in PEADP, and we will review relevant Trust-level documents. We will also observe national and regional PEADP activities and speak with members of the PEADP team, representatives from patient organisations and advocacy groups, and other people involved in implementing or making decisions about the programme.

If you agree to take part in the online survey component of this evaluation, we will first ask you to complete eligibility questions and an online consent form by following a live online link or QR code (provided to you).

You will then be asked to complete the online survey, which takes about 10-20 minutes.

You will be asked different questions depending on your involvement in the PEADP – whether you are a participant, have been otherwise involved, or never heard about it before. These include questions about your awareness and understanding of the PEADP, your experience of the PEADP in your organisation, and recommendations for the PEADP or similar anti-racist leadership programmes. We will also ask you to rate how strongly you agree with statements about your workplace, related to leadership, psychological safety, systemic racism and discrimination, and inclusive practice,

The online surveys can be accessed via computer, tablet or smartphone.

No, it is your choice. You can stop at any time without giving a reason. You also do not have to answer all questions if you don’t want to.

If you want to withdraw your data after you have completed all or some of the questions, you can only do so if you have provided your contact details at the end of the survey. Without this, we cannot know which survey responses are yours.

If you provided contact details and want to withdraw from the study, you can do so within two weeks from submitting your survey responses. After two weeks, we will separate your contact information from your survey responses, and we will no longer be able to identify your data. If you do decide to withdraw within two weeks, your data will be destroyed, and it will not be used in analysis or reporting. Please contact a member of the team if you want to withdraw.

We are happy to discuss any questions or concerns you may have at any time.

Some questions involve reflecting on sensitive experiences of workplace culture, discrimination, and inequality. You do not have to answer any questions that make you uncomfortable.

We will produce a short report and summary presentation for the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). We will publish our findings on the BRACE website, and we will share the findings with NHS England. If you would like to see a copy of the NIHR report, please indicate this at the end of the survey and provide your contact information. We will then send you a link to the report once it is published. We may also share findings through academic or professional publications, conferences, seminars or similar events. Findings will be presented in a way that does not identify individual participants.

All information you share in your survey responses will be treated confidentially and will only be seen by the research team. By agreeing to take part in the survey, you are giving us your permission to digitally record your survey responses. We could know which survey responses belong to you when you provide your contact information at the end of the survey or when you share identifiable information in your responses. To protect your identity, we will separate your contact information from your survey responses two weeks after they are submitted. We will also remove any details by which you could be identified, before publishing anything you have shared in outputs and reports. If you share information that suggests malpractice or unsafe practice that could put staff or patients at risk, the research team have a professional and ethical duty to share that information with the appropriate authority.

We use Qualtrics or Thiscovery to process your information before it is stored on secure servers at the University of Birmingham or RAND Europe. Qualtrics and Thiscovery are secure online platforms approved for use by the University of Birmingham. Data will be stored securely and managed in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act (2018) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and in accordance with the University of Birmingham’s policies for data storage and management. Identifiable data (your name and contact details) may be stored at either the University of Birmingham or RAND Europe. All data will be stored on password-protected computers and servers and will only be accessible to members of the research team. Your details will not be passed on to anyone outside the research team. Data will be stored for a period of 10 years in line with the University of Birmingham’s Research Data Management Policy, after which it will be destroyed.  

You can find out more about how we store, process and manage your personal data at https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/research/rdm/Policies/Research-Data-Management-Policy.aspx

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The evaluation has been reviewed by the University of Birmingham Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) Ethical Review Committee, University of Birmingham.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has funded the Birmingham RAND and Cambridge (BRACE) rapid evaluation centre to undertake this study. More information on the BRACE Centre can be found here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/index.aspx.

The study is led by Dr Beck Taylor from the University of Warwick and Dr Michelle Fisher from the University of Birmingham.

If you have any concerns about the conduct of this research or the way in which you have been treated, you can contact one of the study leads: Dr Beck Taylor, Clinical Associate Professor, at beck.taylor@warwick.ac.uk or Dr Michelle Fisher, Senior Research Fellow, at m.l.fisher@bham.ac.uk.

Or if you want to talk to someone outside of the research team for this particular study, please contact Dr Manbinder Sidhu, Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre and Co-Director of the NIHR BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre: m.s.sidhu@bham.ac.uk.  

If you would like to make a complaint or more information relating to our processing of your personal data, please contact the Information Compliance Manager, Legal Services, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT. Email: legalservices@contacts.bham.ac.uk. Telephone: +44 (0)121 414 3916.

If you have any concerns about patient safety, bullying, discrimination or workplace culture in your Trust, you can contact your organisation’s Freedom to Speak Up Guardian: you can find their information on the national guardian website: https://nationalguardian.org.uk/speaking-up/find-my-ftsu-guardian/.

We understand that participating in the study may bring up unexpected feelings or concerns. If you feel distressed or would like to talk to someone, we encourage you to reach out to one of the following support services:

• Samaritans (UK): call 116 123, or visit https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/talk-us-phone/‍
• Mind (UK): call 0300 102 1234, or visit https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support