Baseline Survey Invitation

Attachment B1a. Baseline Survey Invitation Email

To: [Participant]
From: National Center for Health Statistics

Subject: Introductory/Invitation for Email for Participation in Online Baseline Survey (email 1 of 2)

Dear [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME]:

You are invited to participate in a study conducted by the National Central for Health Statistics (NCHS) called “Assessing the Effectiveness of eLearning to Improve Birth Data Quality.” This is a research study evaluating the online eLearning course, “Applying Best Practices for Reporting Medical and Health Information on Birth Certificates,” which was developed to improve the quality of medical and health data collected on birth certificates. Such improvements will enhance surveillance and research on maternal and infant health in the United States and will contribute to better social and healthcare services. 2M Research Services, LLC (2M) is conducting the fieldwork under contract with NCHS.

NCHS has commissioned this study to assess

1. response to the eLearning course in terms of acceptability, convenience, and accessibility; and

2. changes in knowledge, awareness, thoughts, and perceptions about birth certificate data and changes in understanding of best practices for reporting these data.

NCHS has contracted with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health/Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (Massachusetts DPH/VR) to identify and recruit hospitals for this study. Your hospital is one of nine selected hospitals in Massachusetts that have agreed to participate and to allow their staff to complete the study on work time. You are receiving this email because your hospital identified you as a staff member who is involved in the documentation, collection, and/or reporting of birth certificate data (i.e., birth registrars, managers of birth registrars, labor and delivery nurses [including nurse/midwives], obstetricians and gynecologists).

The study consists of three steps: an Online Baseline Survey, the NCHS online eLearning course, and an Online Follow-Up Survey. After each step, a member of the 2M research team will send you a link to the next step of the study (via email). Participation in all three steps should take a total of approximately 2 hours over a period of up to 1 month.

From the online eLearning course, you should gain a better understanding of the birth certificate data collection process, your role in the process, and best practices for collecting and/or documenting the information. While participation in the surveys may not be of direct benefit to you, the information you provide will help improve future versions of the eLearning course and other birth certificate training materials, which may make your job easier and help improve the quality of birth data in the coming years. There are no foreseeable risks associated with this study.

Your contribution is helpful to the success of the study. Cooperation in all steps will be essential for completeness of data collection, and is greatly appreciated; however, your participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to answer any question for any reason, and you may stop the survey at any time. Choosing not to participate will not affect any benefits you may receive.

By Federal law, the answers you give are confidential and we will take all possible steps to protect your privacy (please see the attached FAQ for details). Your personally identifying information (name, email address) will not be released to anyone outside of NCHS and the 2M research team. Only summarized results from the surveys will be provided to Massachusetts DPH/VR. That is, results from the nine participating hospitals will be combined so that individual respondents and hospitals cannot be identified and no record-level data will be shared. Individual hospitals will not be identified in any published reports on the study findings and any information collected about your hospital will not be provided to you.

If you would like to participate in this study, follow the link below to the Online Baseline Survey. This link is unique to you; please use only the link provided when you are ready to begin. The Online Baseline Survey should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You may save your responses and return to the survey at any time on any computer, tablet, or smartphone using the link in this email and your unique password (sent in a separate email from [email protected] to help protect your privacy). By clicking on the link, you are consenting to participate in this study.

We encourage you to complete the survey as soon as possible.

[LINK].

You may have questions about your rights as a participant in this research study. If so, please call the office of the Research Ethics Review Board at NCHS, toll-free, at 1-800-223-8118. Please leave a brief message with your name and phone number, and state that you are calling about Study Number XXX. Your call will be returned as soon as possible.

If you have any questions about the study, please contact NCHS by emailing [email protected]. For issues with your login or with the functionality of the survey, please contact the 2M research team by calling the toll-free survey helpline at 1-844-250-1911, or by emailing, [email protected].

Thank you in advance for your participation in this important study.

Sincerely,

National Center for Health Statistics

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