Realistic Medicine: Survey Highlights

Methodology

Development of the survey questionnaire was undertaken by the Realistic Medicine Policy Unit and Social Researchers from the Whole System Intelligence Analysis Division within Scottish Government. Input was also provided by stakeholders from the Realistic Medicine Network.

The final questionnaire included a total of 23 questions of which 20 were ‘closed’ questions and 3 were ‘open’ meaning respondents could provide a text response. Most ‘closed’ questions allowed only 1 response option to be selected from the list, though some allowed multiple or ‘all that apply’. 9 of the ‘closed’ questions also included an ‘other’ option, which allowed respondents to write in an alternative response to the options listed. Question ‘routing’ was included, such that respondents were only directed to relevant questions, based on prior responses, for example, only those who answered that they had completed training were asked about the impacts of this training. As such, the large majority of respondents were not asked all of the available questions.

The survey was open from 15 of January to 7 February of 2025. A snowball sampling approach was used, whereby an invitation email, including survey information, link and privacy notice, was sent to individuals in the Realistic Medicine Network who were asked to cascade this within their area of work. A reminder email was sent which was distributed through the same approach. This sampling method means that we do not know the total number of eligible healthcare professionals who were sent the survey, and as such we cannot make a calculation of response rate.

Survey responses were anonymous and no personal identifiable information was requested within the survey questionnaire. The Privacy Notice advised respondents to avoid including personal or identifiable information when providing any open text responses. A check for any such information was completed prior to data analysis, and any such information was removed.

In the interest of the report structure, some profession names have been shortened or abbreviated in axis labels within report Figures. In many cases it was not possible to use the full profession names included in the survey questionnaire due to space limitations. Full profession names are used in the report text throughout. Abbreviated profession names are shown alongside their corresponding full profession name below:

Abbreviations

AHP: Allied Health Professional

Dentist / SASD: Dentist and SAS Doctors

GP: GP

Resident Doctor: Resident Doctor

Consultant: Consultant

Manager: Manager

Nurse or ANP: Nurse or ANP

Pharmacist / Technician: Pharmacist / Pharmacy technician

To support interpretation of the findings, respondents were asked questions in relation to their profession and area of work. Responses to these questions are included within the tables that accompany this report.

Quantitative cross-tabulation analysis was conducted to assess for association between any sub-cohorts and responses to each of the “core” survey questions. Intersectional analysis, for assessing specific professions within a specific NHS Board was not conducted, nor was any statistical significance testing undertaken. For the two contextual questions covering “current role” and “area of work” a number of additional options were available, yet those with less than 20 responses are omitted from Tables and analysis. fewer than 30 responses were received from NHS Orkney, NHS Western Isles, NHS Grampian and NHS Shetland; these have been retained but these results should be interpreted with caution, along with other sub-cohorts with a low base size.

Thematic analysis was also undertaken by Social Researchers from the Whole System Intelligence Analysis Division, which identified key themes from open text responses. These themes are presented throughout the report, alongside illustrative quotations added verbatim from survey responses. The survey findings are presented alongside reflections on what they mean, and what must be done to support people to practise Realistic Medicine.