:focus(1777x1005:1778x1006))
The survey is complete. Reports on its findings are coming soon.
The survey information sheet is provided below for anyone interested. The survey has completed recruitment and we will be publishing our finding soon.
Survey Information Sheet
Language used
We have used the following short-hand terms throughout this document. “Disabled scientists” refers to scientists, technologists, engineers, mathematicians, and healthcare professionals who are disabled, D/deaf, or have long term health conditions (both physical and mental) that have a significant impact on their ability to carry out every day tasks. “Labs” refers to laboratories, manufacturing and production lines, engineering facilities etc.
Information about the survey
We are investigating barriers and solutions for disabled scientists working in laboratory settings. We are asking disabled scientists who have worked in labs (now or in the past) and anyone who has an interest in lab access to complete the survey. This may include non-disabled scientists, architects, builders, equipment manufacturers, grant funders, human resources personnel etc. who have an interest in making working in a lab environment more accessible for disabled scientists.
The survey will take around 20 minutes to complete but any information you provide is extremely useful and you can skip any questions that you do not feel are relevant to you.
We are looking at 5 areas of interest:
Structural access – the physical design of laboratorys and fixed equipment in them
Equipment access – e.g. accessible control panels, robots etc.
Protocol access – adaptation of lab protocols e.g. evacuation protocols, when technician assistance is used etc.
Dissemination access – e.g. making consultation and dissemination events accessible
General working practices – e.g part time or flexible hours
How we will use the survey data
This project will create a set of guidelines in all of these areas in order to share current solutions and propose principles to inform how future solutions should be developed.
These guidelines will be used in the design of a highly accessible pharmaceutical lab laboratory used for the manufacture of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). If you would like to see a snapshot of what such a laboratory usually looks like, please click here for a short virtual reality tour.
Access arrangements for the survey
We would like to make sure there are no access barriers to you taking part in this survey. It is perfectly acceptable for you to have assistance when completing the survey, but please give us your perspective, not your assistant’s. If your assistant is interested, they are eligible to complete a separate survey giving their perspective.
We believe the Qualtrics survey platform is compatible with most screen readers. If you have any problems with this or would prefer a survey to be emailed or posted to you, we can do this. We can provide the survey electronically as a word document or as a pdf format document. If you want a hard copy document we can provide this with standard sized text (12 point font) or large text (16 point font). If you are completing the survey in hard copy, we will provide you with a stamped addressed envelope to return it. Please email Dr Katherine Deane to let us know your access needs.
Can I withdraw from the survey?
All responses will be anonymous. We will take extra care to ensure that you and your workplace cannot be identified in any report or guidance produced from this survey. Once you have hit submit at the end of the survey (or posted it to the team) you will not be able to withdraw your responses as we will not be able to identify them.
If you find the survey upsetting
We recognise that recalling discriminatory events can be distressing. If you feel you need support for your mental wellbeing after completing this survey, we highly recommend the services provided by the mental health charity MIND. Participants based outside the UK may find relevant support from this list of international mental wellbeing charities from CALM ZONE.
Keeping in touch
At the end of the survey, you have the option to follow a link to a separate web page. Here you can provide your email address if you wish to receive a copy of the report on this survey and the set of access guidelines. We will also ask if you wish to be interviewed in more depth about your experiences and expertise by the project team. Finally, we hope this will be the first project in a programme of access research, so we will also ask if you are willing for us to keep your email address in order to contact you about future projects. We will not use this for any marketing purposes and will keep your email address for 5 years only on the secure encrypted computer servers at the University of East Anglia.
If you have any queries
If you have any questions please email the project lead, Dr Katherine Deane. Dr Deane is Associate Professor in Health Research and Access Ambassador at the University of East Anglia. The project is funded by Cell Therapy Catapult Ltd.
What are you consenting to?
Participation in this research study is voluntary. By giving consent to take part in this study you are telling us that you:
Understand what you have read.
Agree to take part in the research study as outlined below.
Agree to the use of your personal information as described.
You have downloaded a copy of this Participant Information Sheet to keep. Again we wish this to be accessible so you can download a Word or pdf version of this information sheet. If you want a hard copy of the information sheet please email your request to Dr Katherine Deane and we can provide this with standard sized text (12 point text) or large text (16 point text).
Being in this study is completely voluntary and you do not have to take part. Your decision whether to participate will not affect your current or future relationship with the researchers or anyone else at the University of East Anglia (or Cell Therapy Catapult Ltd) now or in the future.
Ethics Approval
To protect your safety, rights, wellbeing and dignity, all research in the University of East Anglia is reviewed by a Research Ethics Body. This research was approved by the FMH S-REC (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Research Ethics Subcommittee), reference ETH2223-0928.
Complaints or concerns
If you have a complaint or any concerns about the study, please let me know. You can contact me via the University of East Anglia at the following address:
Dr Katherine Deane
School of Health Sciences
University of East Anglia
NORWICH NR4 7TJ
k.deane@uea.ac.uk
If you are concerned about the way this study is being conducted or you wish to make a complaint to someone independent from the study, please contact
Professor Kenda Crozier
Head of School of Health Sciences
University of East Anglia
NORWICH NR4 7TJ
k.crozier@uea.ac.uk or 01603 59 7094
Data management information
Data management will follow the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), and the University of East Anglia's Research Data Management Policy. According to data protection legislation, we are required to inform you that the legal basis for processing your data as listed in Article 6(1) of the UK GDPR is because this allows us to process personal data when it is necessary to perform our public tasks as a University.
In addition to the specific information provided above about why your personal data is required and how it will be used, there is also some general information which needs to be provided for you:
The data controller is the University of East Anglia.
For further information, you can contact the University’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@uea.ac.uk
You can also find out more about your data protection rights at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
If you are unhappy with how your personal data has been used, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@uea.ac.ukin the first instance.
This information was last updated on 07/12/2022.
This survey closed 6pm GMT on Friday 24th February 2023.