Thank you for considering to take part in this research.
If you’ve had abdominal surgery and later developed a hernia, including a parastomal hernia, your experience could help us better understand why this happens to some people and not others.

We are carrying out research to explore how people understand their own risk of developing a hernia after surgery, and how personal information about risk might be used in the future. This short survey helps us decide how the next stage of the study should go ahead.

Your genes are like a recipe book for your body. They contain instructions for your cells, telling them how to make proteins. Our study looks at something linked to genes called the epigenome. The epigenome acts like a set of bookmarks and notes in the recipe book, guiding which recipes your cells use and when. We believe that factors linked to hernia development may leave marks on the epigenome, influencing risk in ways we don’t yet fully understand.
By learning from people with lived experience, we hope to move towards clearer, more personal information about hernia risk that patients can actually use.

What happens next?
This survey takes only a few minutes. Your answers will help us decide how to move forward to the next stage of the research which would explore these ideas in more depth. There is no obligation to take part beyond this survey, and all responses are confidential.
Thank you for helping shape research that starts with patients.

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* 1. Reason for surgery
Was the abdominal operation that left you with a hernia (either an incisional hernia or a parastomal hernia) to treat cancer?

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* 2. Awareness of hernia risk
Before your operation, how aware were you that developing a hernia is a possible risk of abdominal surgery?

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* 3. Explanation of risk
Before your operation, how well do you feel that the risk of developing a hernia after surgery was explained to you?

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* 4. Usefulness of personalised risk information
How useful do you think it would be to know your personal risk of developing a hernia after surgery?

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* 5. Influence on decision making
If you had known your personal risk of developing a hernia before surgery, how much do you think it would have influenced your decision to proceed with the operation?

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* 6. Influence on timing of surgery
If you had known you personal risk of developing a hernia before surgery, how likely is it that you would have delayed the operation?

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* 7. Acceptability of mesh
If a surgeon told you that you had a high risk of developing a hernia, how comfortable would you feel with them using synthetic mesh during the operation to reduce that risk?

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* 8. Willingness to change lifestyle
If you were told you had a high risk of developing a hernia, how likely would you be to make lifestyle changes (such as increasing exercise, adjusting diet, or stopping smoking) before surgery?

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* 9. Engagement with support
If offered, how likely would you be to meet with a healthcare professional to discuss lifestyle changes before surgery?

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* 10. Acceptability of blood testing
How comfortable would you feel having a blood test to estimate your personal risk of developing a hernia?

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* 11. Acceptability of skin sampling
How comfortable would you feel giving a small skin sample (less than 0.5 cm), taken from the abdomen using local anaesthetic, to estimate your personal risk of developing a hernia?

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* 12. Please make any comments you would like in the box below. This is optional and you may leave it blank.

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