Who is carrying out the survey?
ScotCen Social Research is carrying out the survey on behalf of NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh. ScotCen is the Scottish arm of NatCen, Britain’s biggest independent social research agency. NHS Lothian provides a comprehensive range of primary, community-based and acute hospital services for the Lothian population. The University of Edinburgh has an interest in public health data to research the transformation of health in society.
How was I chosen? Where did you obtain my contact details?
Your name was chosen at random from Lothian residents on the Community Health Index (CHI). This is a database of all patients registered with the NHS in Scotland. Your name and address will only be used for the purposes of contacting you about this important research and will not be included in the research dataset. Your postcode and the local authority you live in will be included with the survey data that NHS Lothian will use for their research. This will allow NHS Lothian to understand the health needs in different parts of Lothian. It will not be possible to use your postcode or local authority information to identify you specifically. Other than the information you provide in the survey, no one involved in the study will have access to any other information about your health at any time in this study. Your survey answers will not be linked to your health records.
I wasn’t chosen but am interested in participating, how can I take part?
A random sample of Lothian residents has been invited to take part in this survey. This sample has been designed to be representative of the population of Lothian in terms of age, sex, local authority of residence and deprivation. Unfortunately, if you have not received an invitation then you will not be able to participate. Thank you for your interest.
What will the survey be about?
We will ask you some questions about your overall health and wellbeing, your daily life, your access to health services, the place you live and questions about other things that might influence your health. If you feel uncomfortable answering a question, you can leave it unanswered and move on to the next one. The survey is entirely voluntary.
How will my answers be used?
Your answers will be put together with answers from other people to provide results for your, council area and the Lothian region. They will not be linked to your name, street address or health record. This study will help to build a picture of the health and wellbeing of Lothian residents and the data will be used for research and planning purposes only. The results of this study may be summarised in published articles, reports and presentations.
Can someone help me fill in the survey?
Yes. You can ask for help (e.g. from a friend or relative) but please make sure the answers are only about you and your experiences.
What does taking part involve?
The survey involves a short online questionnaire, which should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Your views are important to us, but taking part is entirely voluntary. If you would like to withdraw your data after completing the survey, you can do so up until the end of May 2023 by contacting ScotCen (details below), at which point we can if requested remove and destroy the data you have provided. After this date, your data will be anonymised meaning that it will not be possible for NHS Lothian or the University of Edinburgh staff to identify your data in order to remove it. More details can be found in the privacy notices which can be accessed via the links below.
How will you protect my information?
We take our responsibility to keep personal information secure very seriously. Your data will be processed in accordance with Data Protection law and you will remain anonymous in any research outputs. All information collected will be kept strictly confidential. Your data will be referred to by a unique participant number rather than by name, and your name and street address will not be passed on to NHS Lothian or the University of Edinburgh research team unless you consent to follow-up research.
You can find privacy notices for the University of Edinburgh here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/records-management/privacy-notice-research and for NHS Lothian here: www.nhslothian.scot/YourRights/DataProtection
Where can I find out more?
For more information, please email LHS@scotcen.org.uk or call on Freephone on SCOTCEN
Is the survey available in different formats or languages?
You can ask someone to help you fill in the survey, but please make sure the answers are only about you and your experiences. Alternatively, if you phone SCOTCEN then one of our operatives will be able to assist you in filling in the survey.
