The SHOW RESPECT adaptable framework of considerations for planning how to share trial results with participants, based on qualitative findings from trial participants and site staff

Abstract

Background: Sharing trial results with participants is a moral imperative, but too often does not happen in appropriate ways. Methods: We carried out semi-structured interviews with patients (n=13) and site staff (n=11) who were part of the Show RESPECT study, which tested approaches to sharing results with participants in the context of the ICON8 ovarian cancer trial (ISRCTN10356387). Data were analysed thematically, and findings used to develop the SHOW RESPECT adaptable framework of considerations for planning how to share trial results with participants. This paper presents the framework, with illustrations drawn from the Show RESPECT study. Results: Our adaptable “SHOW RESPECT” framework covers: 1) Supporting and preparing trial participants to receive results 2) HOw will the results reach participants? 3) Who are the trial participants? 4) REsults – what do they show? 5) Special considerations 6) Provider – who will share results with participants? 7) Expertise and resources 8) Communication tools 9) Timing of sharing results. While the data upon which the framework is based come from a single trial, many of our findings are corroborated by findings from other studies in this area, supporting the transferability of our framework to trials beyond the UK ovarian cancer setting in which our work took place. Conclusions: This adaptable “SHOW RESPECT” framework can guide researchers as they plan how to share aggregate trial results with participants. While our data are drawn from a single trial context, the findings from Show RESPECT illustrate how approaches to communication in a specific trial can influence patient and staff experiences of feedback of trial results. The framework generated from these findings can be adapted to fit different trial contexts and used by other researchers to plan the sharing of results with their own participants. Trial registration: ISRCTN96189403 Show RESPECT was supported by the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12023/24 and MC_UU_00004/08) and the NIHR CRN.