Assessing the Consent for Contact (C4C) register: How effective is it? | C4C

This project is an evaluation of SLaM Consent for Contact (C4C), a research register designed to enable service users and researchers to connect with each other, whilst potentially reducing the burden on clinical staff (who may otherwise spend time asking service users whether they want to participate in research). The SLaM C4C model has been generated through extensive consultation with service users and other stakeholders. Additionally, a pilot study harnessed the views of service users and clinicians on the best ways of inviting service users to participate in the register. There are now approximately 5000 people on the C4C register, and researchers are currently using it to contact potential participants (based on their clinical record information). We therefore wish to find out how C4C has worked so far by gathering data on the experience of three groups of stakeholders: researchers, participating clinicians and service users. Data will be gathered through questionnaire and interview where possible. We are aiming to collect data from 30 researchers currently using c4c to recruit to studies, 15 clinicians who are implementing c4c and 15 service users on the c4c register who have already been contacted by researchers. This evaluation will allow us to address potential problems so that we can improve the service and support its long term functioning.