Project NUSE Information
Project NURSE information document
This information sheet is for horse owners in the UK to provide information on a survey which you have been invited to complete about your views on the roles of Registered Equine Veterinary Nurses (REVNs).
What is the study about?
VetPartners Equine Clinical Board and its Nursing and Client Communication Special Interest Groups are conducting a study with horse owners to find out about their opinions on the role of REVNs.
Am I eligible to take part?
If you own at least one horse, are aged over 18 and live in the UK, you are eligible to take part.
Why are we asking about EVNs?
Registered equine veterinary nurses (REVNs) are a part of the equine healthcare team, which also includes non-qualified assistants and grooms. When compared to human healthcare and companion animal care, REVNs currently provide very little client-facing treatment to equine patients. Recent discussion within the VetPartners Equine Nursing Teams has revealed a strong interest in developing the roles of REVNs to provide more client-facing services. The results from this study have the potential to improve horse health and welfare, by allowing us capacity to provide specialist nurse clinics such as weight clinics and other types of preventative healthcare.
What does the study involve?
We need horse owners to complete a short (approx. 10 mins) questionnaire and tell us a bit about their own understanding of what the role of an REVN is, any experiences they have had with a REVN involved in the care of their horse, and how open they would be to having an REVN visit their horse for certain procedures. The survey link is here:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/REVN
What are we trying to find out?
We want to find out what:
- What is horse owners’ current understanding of the role of REVNs in the care of their horse?
- What have been horse owners’ previous experiences of REVNs in the care of their horse?
- Would horse owners be open to further involvement of REVNs in the care of their horse?
Has this study been ethically approved?
The study has received approval by the RCVS ethics committee on 24/11/2021.
Who is doing this study?
The VetPartners Equine Clinical Board, Nursing and Client Communication Special Interest Groups are conducting the study. We are a group of registered equine veterinary nurses, veterinary surgeons and other members of the veterinary team, all of whom have a particular interest in developing the roles of our REVNs and all work within the equine practices of VetPartners. VetPartners are a large corporate group of veterinary practices that employ a large number of the equine vets in the UK.
MSD Animal Health have provided a small amount of funding to support this study via a Veterinary Nurse Research Bursary but will not be involved in the planning, delivery or analysis of this project.
How do I consent to giving data to this project?
By completing one of the questionnaires, you are giving us consent to use your responses. The surveys are anonymous. It is not possible to withdraw your responses once they have been submitted.
What will happen to the responses from the questionnaires?
The data you provide will be collected and initially stored via SurveyMonkey (see www.surveymonkey.co.uk for further information). All the data provided in the questionnaires will then be downloaded and stored securely in password protected files by the VetPartners clinical board. The data will be used only for the purposes of this project: understanding horse owner perceptions of the role of REVNs. Data will only ever be reported in a collated, anonymised fashion and no individual responses will be identifiable. All data provided will be permanently deleted within 5 years of collation (or before if published). Data may be shared in collated form on our website, in a peer reviewed publication, conference presentation and other public material.
The responses to our questionnaires are anonymous unless you choose to disclose personal information. At the end of the survey if you wish your name to be put in a prize draw you will be directed to another page to provide this information (name and contact email address). Any personal information you provide will be kept separately from your responses and will be permanently deleted within 6 months (or before if the project is closed sooner) of you supplying the information.
How do I withdraw from the study?
You can stop the questionnaire whilst you are completing it at any time. As the data provided is anonymous, once you have submitted your responses, we have no way of identifying them and removing them from the analysis.
What about the prize draw?
At the end of the survey, if you wish to be entered a prize draw to win £100 Love to Shop vouchers you will be directed to another survey. You will be asked to leave your contact details there. This ensures your responses to the main survey remain anonymous.
How do I find out the results of the study?
You can find out the results of the study in a number of ways:
- A summary will be presented on the VetPartners website
- The findings will be submitted for publication to a peer reviewed journal
- You can email board@vetpartners.co.uk
Contacts
For further information, or if you have any concerns or complaints about this process, please contact the VetPartners Clinical Board: Clinical.Board@vetpartners.co.uk