Understanding Society Microbiome Study: findings from qualitative research into the clarity, completeness and accessibility of prospective participant materials for the Wave 16 microbiome sample collection

Abstract

To support the roll out of the microbiome sample collection under the Wave 16 of Understanding Society: UK Household Longitudinal Study, ISER commissioned Verian (formerly Kantar Public) to conduct in-depth interviews with Understanding Society participants to gather feedback on prospective survey materials. The specific aims of this research included investigating clarity, completeness and accessibility of the information being provided in the participant materials and identify scope for improvement. Generally, there was a high level of clarity, completeness and accessibility reported in relation to the participant documents used. There were also a number of specific changes recommended to the materials in order to them easier to understand. Findings from this study have been used by the research and study design teams at ISER to inform the design of study materials and protocols.