Question design and submission
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A bespoke platform for question submission was devised using ‘OnlineSurvey’ (Jisc Services Limited, UK) software, with iterative development and face validity testing from all steering group members. The platform guided participants through the practicalities of structuring questions in the PICO format. We used categorical variables for gestational age and geographical location in the population (P) domain alongside a free-text field and used free-text fields for intervention (I) and comparison (C) domains. Outcomes could be selected from a categorical variable populated with the Core Outcomes in Neonatology
An example PICO question based on a well-known neonatal trial was displayed on the question submission platform.Pre-recorded video resources were developed for the BAPM website, showing members of the steering group putting together a PICO question relevant to their branch of practice. Links to these resources were included on the question submission software.Two BAPM-supported webinars were held, explaining the development of PICO questions: one targeted towards all participants and one specifically designed to support parents and former patients led by a parent representative.We contacted other groups who had undertaken neonatal priority setting work (for example, related to neonatal transport) directly and included relevant research questions in PICO format.Each submitted question was reviewed by two independent members of the steering committee to remove questions that were incomplete, duplicate, out of scope, unclear or already answered, prior to progression to the eDelphi.