Qualitative study of men’s experiences of AAA screening
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Qualitative study of men’s experiences of having an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) identified by screening
IRAS ID
223558
Contact name
Mike Crilly
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 10 days
Research summary
Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) using ultrasound among men aged 65 years was launched in NHS Grampian in October 2012 as part of a national population-based screening programme. There are currently around 200 men under surveillance for a screen-detected AAA in Grampian. There are concerns that having an AAA detected by screening may have an adverse effect on men’s health, but there is currently little research around men’s experiences of having an AAA detected by screening. This study plans to explore men’s experiences using qualitative research methods.
Men under surveillance (either annually or quarterly) for a screen-detected AAA with NHS Grampian will be invited to participate by letter in a single one-to-one interview (for 45-60 minutes) with a researcher to talk about their experience of having an AAA detected by screening and being under surveillance for further growth of the aneurysm. A demographic form will also be used to collect demographic information at the end of the interview. It is anticipated that 10 men will be interviewed over a one-to-two-month period. All of the interviews will be digitally recorded and transcribed by a single researcher. All comments from participants will be anonymised and analysis will be based on ‘inductive thematic analysis’ using NVIVO software.
The research is being undertaken by a postgraduate Masters in Public Health (MPH) student at Aberdeen University Medical School and is being supervised by a senior academic, who is also the Public Health lead for AAA screening in NHS Grampian. The findings from this research will inform how to provide AAA screening/surveillance to men so as to minimise any negative impacts on health.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EM/0216
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion