MECareNWL FAQs

Don't worry if your question is not answered here, you can always get in touch to ask us your question!

What is the aim of MeCareNWL?

MeCareNWL is a major study of the COVID-19 pandemic on the short- and long-term health and wellbeing of all staff working within partner NHS Trusts, GP surgeries and the Local Authority social care sector in the North-West London Sustainability and Transformation Partnership. 

 It will also explore the various support programmes that staff may have participated in. This information is important, so that we can identify what has or has not worked for you, and better support you at this challenging time and in the future.

How do I take part?

If you have received an email inviting you to take part, follow the link to the survey in that email.  You can also click here to take part.

What will the study involve?

This study involves completing a very short survey now, and other optional surveys in 3, 12- and 18-months’ time.

 If you would like to take part, you will be asked to register via your email address and fill in an online consent form.  You will then be given a link to a very brief online survey.  You can save the survey and come back later to complete.

1) The very brief survey (5-10 minutes) collects information on your contact details, occupation, demographics (like your age), support available to you, your general health and your experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.  You will also have the option to fill in a longer survey (an additional 20-30 minutes) if you would like.  This includes some more details about your work, and your direct and indirect experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, resilience and wellbeing.  If you have consented to providing an email address to register, you will be able to save the survey and come back later to complete it.

Both the very brief survey and the longer survey will be followed by repeated surveys at 3, 12 and 18 months, although these timings are approximate depending on the duration of the crisis.  These follow-up surveys are very important as they will help us better understand any medium- or longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of NHS and social care staff.  This information is essential to ensuring the right support services are in place, should they be needed.

2) Some staff have had access to a range of supports during the outbreak (e.g., access to resources on self-care, wellbeing hubs, peer support groups and access to mental health professionals providing team/individual support).  We want to find out about your experience of these staff support interventions or resources if you received them.  You can find more information in our Participant Information Sheet. To take part in these surveys you will need to have registered with your email address and have completed the initial very brief survey.

I completed the questionnaire for this study but have been asked to complete it again.

You may have heard about the study from different sources, but you only need to complete the baseline survey once.

 Why do I need to complete follow-up surveys?

The importance of doing it again in the coming months is that it is the only way to monitor changes over time, and in particular picking up longer-term changes in health and wellbeing should they develop.  COVID-19 has been a major event for many of us, and it would be foolish not to be able to find out whether there are any longer lasting effects once the initial crisis has passed.

Why do you need to ask questions about my mental health, and about my personal life?

We are interested in learning about a variety of potential problems that our NHS and social care community may be experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Most people now accept that these might affect not just physical, but also mental health, personal and working life.  Again, it would be foolish not to ask about all of these, especially if more support is needed even when this is all over.  If you do not wish to answer certain questions or feel uncomfortable in doing so, please feel free to skip them. 

Who is being asked to take part?

We are inviting members of staff working within:

NHS Trusts: Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust; Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; London North West Healthcare NHS Trust; Royal Brompton And Harefield NHS Foundation Trust; The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust; and West London Mental Health NHS Trust.

Local Authorities: Hillingdon Council; Harrow Council; Brent Council; Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council; Westminster Council and Hounslow Council.

We expect that our invitation will go out to around 52,000 healthcare staff and 39,500 social care staff, approximately 400 general practices and 144 care homes.  The more people take part in the study, the more we can be sure that our findings are accurate and represent a wide range of individual experiences, and the more likely it will be that the findings will be acted on.

I have been contacted about taking part in this study. How did you get my contact details?

Eligible participants have been identified via the HR systems of participating NHS Trusts and Local Authorities.  We have used existing, dedicated group emails operated on a regular basis to distribute emails to staff working in related settings.  This is the best way to explain the study and invite people to take part.

Who is on the research team?

The research team includes staff working at Imperial College London in the North West London Applied Research Collaboration Multimorbidity and Mental Health theme and in the Department of Brain Sciences. Team Members come from a combination of clinical and research backgrounds and are led by Chief Investigator Dr Dasha Nicholls, together with Co-Investigators, Mr Richard A. Powell and Dr Victoria Burmester.  You can read more about our team by visiting 'Meet the team'.

Some of my friends and family want to take part.  Can I send them the survey?

This study is for staff working within a partner NHS Trust or Local Authority.  They do not need to be directly employed by the either body as many ancillary colleagues have different employers.  It is very important we reach these colleagues, too.  They must, however, work within one of our study NHS Trusts or Local Authorities.  We encourage as many eligible people to take part, so please pass on details of the study to individuals you think may be interested in taking part and are working in one of these organisations. 

I have not had COVID-19 (coronavirus), is this study still relevant to me?

Yes, absolutely.  It is for all staff.  We want to hear from everybody.  That includes those who have been unwell or are still unwell with the virus, but the survey is definitely for the entire NHS and Local Authority community in the participating sites.

Is the study voluntary?

Yes, the study is entirely voluntary.  You are under no obligation to take part and choosing not to participate will not disadvantage you in any way.  No one except the immediate study team will know who does and does not participate.  However, for the findings to be valid and useful we need to have as many responses as possible, so please do consider contributing.  Your time supporting this will be so valuable for all our NHS and social care colleagues.

How is the project being funded?

The research is organised and currently funded by Imperial College London and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London.  Should other funders join as the study progresses, that information will be shared with you.

Will the information I provide be confidential?

The security and confidentiality of your data is our highest priority.  Your data will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  All the data collected as part of this project will be regarded as strictly confidential and will be held securely.  All data for analysis will be anonymised.  In reporting on the research findings, we will not reveal the names of any participants.

 All research staff are provided with training regarding GDPR and Imperial College London standards for handling data.  Any data provided electronically will be stored on a database on a restricted server only accessible by specified members of the research team who have been given authorisation to access the database.

 No study data will be available in any identifiable format to anyone outside of the immediate research team.  Employers and professional bodies will not have access to any identifiable information.

 You can find more information in our Participant Information Sheet.

Will I get to see the results of this study?

Yes, findings from this research will be disseminated within the participating NHS Trusts and Local Authorities through communication channels, including websites and staff newsletters.  We may also send you a summary of the results via email.  Research findings will also be disseminated to NHS Trusts and Local Authorities nationally via professional networks and professional bodies.  Additionally, findings will be published in academic journals, at conferences and stakeholder meetings, and summaries will be placed on the dedicated study website.  We will be working with members of the public and our staff across our NHS and local Authority sites to ensure the findings reach everyone involved.

What are the benefits of taking part?

There is no direct benefit to participants and no incentives will be given as part of participation; however, we think there will be some indirect benefits.  People often value the opportunity to share their experiences and feelings anonymously.  Furthermore, people may feel keen to contribute to research concerning such an unprecedented situation as the COVID-19 pandemic.  Most importantly by participating, you will also be contributing to findings that will help inform staff health and wellbeing strategies and services for NHS Trust and social care staff during and following the current pandemic.  If you are reading this, you are already helping patients, carers, and families.  This work will benefit the staff in the NHS, now and in the future.

Does the study have ethical approval?

The study was given ethical approval by Imperial College Research Ethics Committee (ICREC) and the Head of Department of Medicine, who has signed off on the study. It has also been approved by the Health Research Authority, reference number (20/PR/0828 ). You can find more details in our Participant Information Sheet.

Are there any disadvantages to taking part?

We have not identified any disadvantages other than giving up a little bit of your time.  We are, however, aware that answering some questions about an unprecedented and stressful experience could potentially be difficult for some people and may cause distress.  If that is the case, and you would like some support, the best thing is to reach out to someone you trust.  Additional sources of support can be found here, and below:

1) Local Trust and Authority support services provided as part of staff health and wellbeing strategies across participating bodies.

2) Broader NHS services, including General Practitioners and Improving Access to Psychological Therapy Services.

3) Third sector helplines, including the Samaritans (Tel: 116 123 Email: jo@samaritans.org) and other nationally provided resources.

What if I want to withdraw my consent?

You can withdraw yourself from the study anytime until the end of the study without giving a reason by contacting a member of the research team.  With regards to the online survey, you can stop participating simply by stopping its completion.  You can also email the study team using the dedicated research team email address (MeCareNWL@imperial.ac.uk) to indicate you are no longer willing to participate in the study.  We aim to publish non-identifiable data in brief summaries within weeks of data collection.  We will write our reports in a way that no-one can work out that you took part in the study. 

Where can I look for more information?

If you want more details about this study, like what will happen if you take part, or more information about how your data will be handled, have a look at our Participant Information Sheet.

I still have questions about the study, who can I get in touch with?

You can contact the research team at MeCareNWL@imperial.ac.uk.  We aim to respond to all queries in 2 working days.

Collaborators

The team at Imperial College London is collaborating in this study with colleagues at King’s College London.

Project Partners

NHS Trusts: Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust; Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; London North West Healthcare NHS Trust; Royal Brompton And Harefield NHS Foundation Trust; The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust; and West London Mental Health NHS Trust.

Local Authorities: Hillingdon Council; Harrow Council; Brent Council; Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council; Westminster Council and Hounslow Council.

Funding

This work is organised and currently funded by Imperial College London and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London.