Scotland's Cancer Strategy Evaluation: Experiences of patient access and engagement with cancer treatment and support in rural and island areas, and in areas with higher deprivation

Appendix E – Text from staff information sheet

The Scottish Government has asked Ipsos Scotland (an independent research organisation) to conduct an evaluation to gather evidence on how cancer treatment and support services are accessed and experienced by two target population groups - those living in deprived areas and those living in rural/island areas. Dr Naomi White (University of Edinburgh) will also be providing advice on the evaluation.

In doing so, the evaluation will consider the support provided as part of the Improving the Cancer Journey and Single Point of Contact initiatives, in addition to asking about the support provided within cancer treatment and support services. The findings will be used to feed into Scotland’s next Cancer Action Plan.

As part of this work, Ipsos would like to speak to healthcare and other staff about their experiences of delivering services and support to these groups.

Why have I been invited to take part?

Ipsos will be speaking to staff and service users in six case study areas across Scotland. You’ve been invited to take part in the evaluation because you are involved in the delivery of cancer treatment services or support in one of these areas. We hope you might be able to share your views and experiences to help us with this evaluation.

What does taking part involve?

• Taking part involves an interview with a researcher from Ipsos. It will usually be one-to-one (unless you agree to take part with colleagues), lasting up to an hour and taking place at a convenient time for you. It has been agreed with your employer that it can take place during your normal working hours.
• The interview can be by phone or video call depending on your preference. If you prefer, it may also be possible to arrange an in-person interview.
• The researcher will ask you about your work in cancer treatment or support services. They will ask for your views on barriers and enablers to supporting people living in rural/island or deprived areas, particularly with respect to supporting their engagement with, access to and experiences of treatment and support.
• The interview will be relaxed and informal and you don’t need to prepare for it. There are no right or wrong answers, we just want to understand your views.

How will my information be used?

If you agree, the Ipsos interviewer will audio-record the conversation, so they can refer back to what you said. If you prefer not to be recorded, that’s fine though – they will just take notes. The recording will be securely stored in a folder only accessible to the team at Ipsos. Ipsos may use their secure AI assistant to transcribe the recording.

We will use the interviews to inform the findings of the evaluation. They will be used alongside the findings from interviews with service users to write a report that will be published by the Scottish Government.

In the main, quotes included in the report will be anonymised. However, where services have unique experiences, it may be helpful to identify areas and attribute quotes accordingly. While no names will be included, it is possible that some parts of the report may identify something you’ve said. There is also a chance that some parts of the report may be identifying (even if it you are not quoted directly) due to the small number of people in relevant roles.

After the interview, we will check if there is anything that you would not like to be quoted in the report. We will also share with you any elements of the draft report we feel may be identifying, before sharing it with the Scottish Government. We can remove identifying information/quotes upon request. However, it will not be possible to change the overall findings of the report.

Do I have to take part?

No. It is entirely your choice whether or not you take part. You can also change your mind at any time without giving us a reason. You can choose not to answer individual questions if you don’t feel comfortable with them, and/or stop the discussion completely. Ipsos will always respect such decisions.

How will we handle your personal data?

The privacy notice for this project tells you more about how Ipsos securely handles your personal data. You can read it here: https://assets-uk.ipsos.com/scotland/cancerstrategystaff/privacy.pdf

Please let us know if you would like a paper copy of the privacy notice.

How can I take part?

If you have any questions or would like to take part, please get in touch with Ipsos:

• Email: [redacted] or
• Call or message [Senior Researcher at Ipsos] on: [redacted]

Please let us know if there is anything that would make it easier for you to take part. We will discuss your needs with you and try to make it as easy as possible for you to take part.

Next steps:

• We (the Ipsos Team) will reply and answer any questions you may have about the evaluation. If you would prefer to speak to one of us on the phone before deciding whether to take part, we can arrange that.
• We might ask you some questions about your role, to make sure we are speaking to a mix of different professionals with different roles in your area.
• If everything is fine to go ahead, we will discuss with you the best time to have a conversation and how you would prefer to take part (e.g. by telephone, video call or in person if feasible).