Coming up in this issue...
Announcements
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We are delighted to share that SIREN has obtained funding to introduce a new qualitative research sub-study, subject to ethical approval.
We would really welcome your input in this exciting new area of research.
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What?
SIREN has commissioned experts in qualitative research to facilitate a number of focus groups. This includes focus groups with participants, site teams and the wider SIREN site workforce. Each focus group will involve 6-8 individuals who will be asked to respond to and discuss a series of questions. There are no right answers, and we would welcome your open and honest responses.
Questions will vary between focus groups but topics may include:
- How SIREN data is used at sites
- The impact of SIREN on participants
- Attitudes towards regular vaccinations during the course of the study
- Feedback on how the SIREN study is run.
Why?
We are keen to value all the hard work and effort your site has contributed over the course of the study and to make the most of data participants are providing us. Introducing a qualitative research sub-study will help us add depth to, and further explore, the quantitative findings of the SIREN study to date whilst generating new insights.
Who?
We are aiming to run focus groups with:
A) SIREN Research Nurses
B) SIREN PIs
C) SIREN site wider organisational workforce
D) SIREN participants
We are reaching out and inviting groups B-D via separate communications, but please consider this newsletter item as notice for Group A – SIREN site Research Nurses – to express an interest in joining us for a focus group.
We would really like to include voices from as many sites as possible, and please don’t let distance put you off – we are holding all focus groups on Microsoft Teams.
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When?
The SIREN site focus groups with Research Nurses will take place on:
- 28 February 2023, 12:00 - 14:00
- 28 February 2023, 18:00 - 20:00
- 20 March 2023, 10:00 - 12:00
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There is an option to select your preferred date when you fill in the form below. We have provided time slots within and outside of regular working hours for added flexibility.
How?
To express an interest in joining a focus group, please fill in this form by 23 February 2023. We have a limited number of spaces available and it is possible we will run out. We will make every effort to ensure we have good representation across SIREN sites, and we will be sure to share findings from the sub-study with you all at a later date.
If you are selected to participate in a focus group we will email you a participant information leaflet along with a consent form for signing.
You will be offered an honorarium for your time in line with National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) recommendations. We will also issue certificates of participation for those who take part.
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The Winter Pressures sub-study is well underway, and thanks as ever to the sites who are participating. We are delighted to share a new blog about the sub-study - please follow this link or click on the image to the right.
Key updates:
A) Postal pathway participants
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As you may recall we invited participants from closed out sites to join via a postal pathway – submitting PCRs and follow-up questionnaires only, independent of any site. We were really pleased that over 3,400 participants joined through this pathway!
Later this week we are emailing all postal pathway participants with additional instructions on how to carry out, label and post back swab kits. We are letting you know in case any participant gets in touch. If this happens, please feel free to forward on the query to siren@ukhsa.gov.uk.
B) England and Wales Winter pressures accruals
England and Wales Winter Pressures sites only – you should have received an email on 8 February 2023 regarding the accruals system. Please do read the email and follow the outlined steps to seek accruals for your participants.
If you are an English or Welsh site participating in the Winter Pressures sub-study and you did not receive this email – please get in touch by emailing siren@ukhsa.gov.uk.
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We are excited to share that the next SIREN webinar will be held on 17 March 2023, 12:30 – 13:30. |
The webinar will be live and include presentations from a number of SIREN researchers, all tasked with showcasing the exciting ways in which SIREN data has been used, what has been found and how this has contributed to the pandemic response. We will also provide attendees with an update on plans post-March 2023.
What now?
Register for the webinar here or click the button above.
We will be inviting all participants via email, text and newsletter later this week. Please feel free to share the webinar with participants via your own channels too – we are keen for as many people as possible to join us.
We look forward to seeing you there!
If you have joined a recent PI Forum or All-Sites Debrief you will have heard that we are currently planning study activity beyond March 2023.
SIREN is continuing to make an important contribution to our understanding of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. This includes:
We are investigating several options for continuation which we hope to discuss with you via the regular site meetings and with participants shortly. We are still waiting for confirmation of funding for beyond March 2023 but we look forward to providing you with an update as soon as possible.
In the meantime, we encourage you to consider and have local discussions about your interest in continuing with the SIREN study post-March 2023 at your site.
The UK Health Security Agency is conducting a survey of Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) teams in NHS Trusts in England to understand the range of policies currently in place for face mask use among staff working in hospital settings. |
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If you are based at an English site and would like your organisation to have a say please forward this link to your IPC team to find out more and complete the survey.
Please note, only one submission is allowed per Trust. The survey will close on Wednesday 15th March 2023.
Operational reminders
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On 14 February 2023 we emailed a quick survey to all sites in England, Northern Ireland and Wales intended to capture the correct contact details for each site.
Scottish sites do not need to fill out this survey as your contact details are kept updated by the Scottish SIREN team.
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We would appreciate if one individual per site could fill this in by 14 March 2023.
This will help SIREN to streamline our communications and prevent ad hoc requests for contact details in future. We have pre-populated the survey with contact details where available, to make this process as quick as possible for you.
If you did not receive this email please contact siren@ukhsa.gov.uk.
Thank you!
Bonus items
A) SIREN at ECCMID
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We are pleased to share that the SIREN team have had a number of abstracts accepted for the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) 2023.
If you are also attending the conference in April please do keep an eye out for SIREN posters and presentations, and come say hello! We would be delighted to see you there.
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B) The latest on Twitter
To join the conversation on Twitter please use #SIRENstudy and tag @victoria_jhall and @SMHopkins.
The SIREN Consortium is a unique, multidisciplinary collaboration established to answer key questions about the mechanisms and durability of COVID-19 immunity.
Consortium members include:
Each SIREN Consortium member focuses on its own particular research area. To provide more insight into the Consortium and some of the people behind the research, we asked representatives from different organisations to share a bit about themselves and their work with SIREN.
We introduced the first two members last month, and introduce two more below. Please click the videos below to watch.
To find out more about the work of the Emerging Pathogen Serology group please visit their Twitter page.
Find out more about the VIBRANT study by visiting the website.
Thanks to all those who have submitted reflections on being part of the SIREN study. To feature in a future newsletter please fill out this form.
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"After 2 years of regular blood samples, along with hundreds of infections and vaccinations, lots of participants were wondering what their spike antibodies were doing.
In response to this, we made individual graphs showing participants own spike antibody levels over time.
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We incorporated this into a letter that explained and put into context the results. In our monthly local SIREN newsletter, we then included a graph showing the average results for everyone in our cohort so that participants could compare what their own spike antibody trends looked like compared to the average.
Participants have given us excellent feedback, have enjoyed discussing and comparing, and have found it interesting seeing the effects of infection and/or vaccination on their antibody levels."
Harriet Carroll
NHS Grampian, Scotland
And finally, as ever, if you would like to share feedback on the SIREN study (whether to flag what is working well or what you are finding challenging) please fill out our feedback form. There is the option to provide your feedback anonymously if you would prefer.
Kind regards,
The UKHSA SIREN Study Team
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