Parent and practitioner experiences of opt out consent in neonatal intensive care: a mixed methods study within a trial
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: In neonatal trials, verbal opt-out consent has been used to reduce burden on families and make recruitment more efficient and representative. It involves information provision through posters and leaflets before randomisation, and parents can verbally ‘opt out’ of their baby being randomised to the trial. There is limited understanding of how opt-out consent is operationalised in a multicentre neonatal trial, and its acceptability to staff and parents.
Objective: To explore views and experiences of verbal opt-out consent in neoGASTRIC, a neonatal randomised trial comparing routine and no routine measurements of gastric contents in preterm babies.
Methods: A mixed methods (questionnaires, interviews and focus groups) process evaluation within a trial.
Setting: Four UK neonatal units.
Participants: 253 participants: 167 staff (149 questionnaires; 18 across two focus groups), 86 parents (85 questionnaires; 15 interviews; 14 took part in both).
Results: Parents and staff supported opt-out consent in neoGASTRIC as interventions were viewed as low risk and non-invasive. Parents appreciated an appropriately timed research conversation; only 21% noticed study information banners/posters. Operationalisation of opt-out consent varied in terms of when information was provided and randomisation timing. Women approached during labour or within hours of birth reported feeling overwhelmed and lacking capacity to consider research. Some staff operationalised a modified opt-in approach.
Conclusions: An appropriately timed verbal opt-out approach to consent was seen acceptable as proportionate in the neonatal context in a low-risk trial comparing different accepted clinical, non-pharmaceutical, practices. Findings informed neoGASTRIC and will guide approaches to consent in this setting.
Objective: To explore views and experiences of verbal opt-out consent in neoGASTRIC, a neonatal randomised trial comparing routine and no routine measurements of gastric contents in preterm babies.
Methods: A mixed methods (questionnaires, interviews and focus groups) process evaluation within a trial.
Setting: Four UK neonatal units.
Participants: 253 participants: 167 staff (149 questionnaires; 18 across two focus groups), 86 parents (85 questionnaires; 15 interviews; 14 took part in both).
Results: Parents and staff supported opt-out consent in neoGASTRIC as interventions were viewed as low risk and non-invasive. Parents appreciated an appropriately timed research conversation; only 21% noticed study information banners/posters. Operationalisation of opt-out consent varied in terms of when information was provided and randomisation timing. Women approached during labour or within hours of birth reported feeling overwhelmed and lacking capacity to consider research. Some staff operationalised a modified opt-in approach.
Conclusions: An appropriately timed verbal opt-out approach to consent was seen acceptable as proportionate in the neonatal context in a low-risk trial comparing different accepted clinical, non-pharmaceutical, practices. Findings informed neoGASTRIC and will guide approaches to consent in this setting.
Date Issued
2026-03-01
Date Acceptance
2025-08-12
Citation
Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition, 2026, 111 (2), pp.F162-F168
ISSN
1359-2998
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Start Page
F162
End Page
F168
Journal / Book Title
Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition
Volume
111
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1136/archdischild-2025-328693
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-08-31