Thank you for your interest in this project.
My name is Martina. I am a nurse, and I work at University College Dublin. I am doing a project to find out what children think we should be teaching student nurses about how to talk and listen to children.
We would like to invite your child to take part in a research project. The aim of this project is to help future children’s nurses learn how to communicate better with children and young people and we think it is important that children have a say in this.
Before you decide if you are happy for your child to take part, it is important that you understand why the project is being done and what it will involve. Take time to read the information that follows carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. If anything is unclear or you would like more information, please contact Martina Kennedy, lead researcher at childnursingresearch@gmail.com.
What is this project about?
We're inviting children and young people to help us understand what nurses need to learn to communicate with young patients. We want to learn from children and young people about their experiences of communication and what they believe is important for children's nurses to know. We will use this information to create a communication skills module to teach to student nurses in universities.
Who is doing this project?
This is part of a PhD project being led by Martina Kennedy, a registered General and Children’s nurse who is currently an Assistant Lecturer in Children’s Nursing at University College Dublin. She is being supervised by Professor Lucy Bray, Dr. Holly Saron and Dr. Louca-Mai Brady. Children and young people, including some from this school, also helped us to design this project.
Why is my child being asked to take part?
With your child’s school agreeing to participate in this project, we are inviting your child to take part. The workshops are designed to gather your child's views and advice about what makes communication with nurses good or not-so-good. They will not be expected to talk about their own personal medical or illness experiences.
Does my child have to take part?
No. It is completely up to you and your child if they take part in this project. Your child doesn't have to join this project if they don't want to. It's their choice, taking part in this project is voluntary.
If you decide your child shouldn't take part, or if your child simply doesn't want to, just let their teacher know before the activities take place. They will continue their regular class activities, just like on any normal school day.
What will my child be asked to do?
If they choose to take part, your child and their classmates will join Martina in engaging activities where they’ll use animated images, sticky notes and drawing to talk about communication.
The workshop will explore topics like:
Talking about animated images and scenarios that have been developed based on research to show how nurses and young people communicate with each other.
Sharing their views on what good and not-so-good communication can look like.
Talking about what communication skills should nurses have.
Your child’s ideas are really important and will help us design communication training for student nurses who work with children and young people. The activities will take 50 – 55 minutes and will take place during lesson time. We will audio-record the discussions to make sure we remember everyone’s ideas.
At the beginning of the workshop your child will be asked if they are still happy to take part. If they decide they don’t want to, their teacher or special needs assistant will return them to their regular class activities without them needing to say why. The teacher and special needs assistants will remain in the classroom for the entire time the activities are taking place.
What are my choices about how my child’s information is used?
Your child's involvement in this project will be completely anonymous and confidential. Please be aware that the only situations in which we will have to break confidentiality are if a participant shares information indicating a risk of harm to themselves or others. If this occurs, we will need to share this information with the principal and relevant professionals outside the research team. We will always aim to inform you before taking such action. As registered healthcare professionals, the research team has a professional responsibility to act, and the specific action taken would depend on the nature of the disclosure.
The workshop will be audio recorded. We will not collect any information that could tell us who your child is or what class they are in. If your child shares any details that could identify them, this information will not be recorded in our notes.
Once you and your child have decided to take part, we'll ask you to sign a consent form saying it's okay for your child to take part. Then, just before we start, we'll also ask your child if they are happy to join in (we call this assent). It's important to know that once your child shares their ideas in the activities, we won't be able to pick out their words or drawings later on. This is because their ideas will be mixed in with everyone else's and it would be hard to separate them.
All the information from this project will be kept very secure on the Edge Hill University’s online storage. Only the research team can look at it, and it will be kept for 10 years before being securely deleted. Don't worry, any personal details you shared, such as your child’s name and class will be deleted as soon as the project is complete.
We would like to use the information your child provides in future studies and to share it with other researchers for ethically approved research projects. After the study, the anonymised data will be stored securely and may be used for future research or by other researchers upon request.
What are the possible benefits or disadvantages of taking part?
We hope your child enjoys taking part in this project. We believe their ideas can help shape and improve how communication skills are taught to student children’s nurses.
While we do not think there are any disadvantages for your child in taking part, we understand that sometimes it might be upsetting to think about previous healthcare experiences. We will be there to offer support, along with their teacher and special needs assistants. The principal will also be available if needed.
Data Protection Notice
We follow the GDPR rules and the law called the Data Protection Act (2018) which set out rules for how we must handle, process, store and destroy data. The data for this study will be processed on the legal basis of being in the public interest. At Edge Hill University, we are committed to respecting and protecting your personal information and that all data collected is used fairly, stored safely, and not disclosed to any other person unlawfully. Certain individuals from the University and regulatory organisations may look at your anonymised research records to check the accuracy of the research study. The people who analyse the information will not be able to identify you and will not be able to find out your name or contact details. To find out more about how we protect your data and contact details for our Data Protection Officer, please see https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/about/legal/privacy. The University is a data controller and, in some instances, may be a data processor of this data.
What will happen to the results of this project?
We'll share what we learn from this project with the advisory and support organisations that are supporting this project, giving them valuable insights into how children and young people like to be communicated with. The results and information about the workshops will be included in a PhD thesis, which will be available online. The results of this project will also be published in academic journals and presented at conferences and events at the university. None of the information shared will identify your child. After the project finishes, we'd like to share the anonymised information as "open data," meaning other researchers can use it for new studies or learning, but no one will be able to tell who your child is from this information.
Who has reviewed the study?
The study has been reviewed and approved by Edge Hill University Health-related Research Ethics Committee (EHU Ref: ETH2526-0196)
What do I do if I have questions or would like my child to take part?
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact Martina Kennedy at childnursingresearch@gmail.com.
To give consent for your child to take part, please complete and submit the online consent form below. After you have given consent, your child also needs to agree to take part. If they are under the age of 16 years, they will be asked to complete an assent form. This gives them the chance to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ themselves and lets us know they understand what’s involved and are happy to join. They can complete their assent form below. If your child is 16 years or older, they can complete a consent form, also found below.
Is there someone independent I can talk to about the research or if there is a problem?
If you are unhappy with the research in any way please tell us. We will try to put things right. If you would prefer to talk to someone outside the research team, or if you are not happy with the way we deal with your problem, you can contact the Chair and Secretary of the Health Research Ethics Committee on HREC@edgehill.ac.uk.
Thank you for taking the time to read this information.
M. Kennedy (25102826) - Improving Nurse Communication - Parent Information Sheet (SEND School Long) Version 1 - 01/12/2025, EHU Ref: ETH2526-0196