The GRADE study has been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) although the research itself is entirely independent of all our partner organisations. It has been approved by the Psychiatry, Nursing and Midwifery Research Ethics Committee [ref: 14/15-29] at King’s College London.

This study aims to find out what factors may be associated with distress and disorder among occupational groups affected by disaster, and to identify factors which are likely to help or hinder organisational recovery from a mental health viewpoint. The overall intent is to help organisations improve the way they help their staff cope with traumatic incidents.

In the current phase of the research, we are looking for participants from the following organisations;

• Emergency services
• Private and commercial organisations
• Staff who work in a primary care practice / GP's surgery

.. to participate in 1:1 telephone interviews about their experiences and views on disasters in relation to their organisation.  Experience of a traumatic event at or near their place of work is not a requirement of participation, as we are interested in a variety of opinions and experiences, including hypothetical ones. The kinds of incidents that we are looking to discuss include: building fires or floods, health epidemics, and terrorist attacks, among many others.  

We will pay participants from emergency services or private and commercial organisations £40 as a thank you for taking part.

If you work in a GP's practice, your interview will focus on how you and your practice would cope with a disaster that effects your local community. Staff from a GP's practice will receive £75 for taking part. This includes GP's, receptionists, nurses and related staff. 

Only information from the sessions will be used in the study and we will not seek information about you from anywhere else. Similarly, as confidentiality is so important to us, any information which comes from the interviews will not be disclosed to anyone outside the study, unless we are concerned for anyone’s safety. We would also like to emphasise that we are not looking to find out anything about potential disaster plans or whether organisations are doing enough, etc. We are simply interested in what people think and their interviews will not in any way be traceable back to their organisation as all interviews will be anonymised.

Participation in the study is entirely voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time.

At this stage we would simply like the opportunity to talk to you more about the study. Nothing you do at this stage commits you to participate.

If you would like more information about the study or think your organisation may be interested in taking part, please contact the research team, Dr Samantha Brooks (samantha.k.brooks@kcl.ac.uk) to discuss the study and to receive an information sheet.