Since research questions are usually designed by researchers themselves, there is a lack in research aimed at answering important questions from patients, clinicians and members of the public. Therefore, a survey and following prioritisation workshops were designed to find the most urgent and relevant research questions involving clinicians, researchers and people affected by preterm birth in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

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With the help of an online and a paper-based survey, authors of the study asked health workers, patients and caregivers for suggestions about currently unanswered research topics including interventions during pregnancy, uncertainties about treatments and the timespan from birth to shortly afterwards. Additionally, some research questions resulting from existing literature and from the national UK clinical guidelines were included. In total, a list of 104 potential research questions was compiled, which was shortened to a top-30 list by a public vote with 507 participants (online and in clinics), including relevant stakeholders.

In order to prioritise potential research fields, the authors recruited 25 organisations for workshops, representing those affected by preterm birth and health professionals. In these workshops, the top 30 questions were discussed and ranked from highest to lowest priority. In the process of the workshops, differences in priorities between people affected by preterm birth and health professionals were visible. Nevertheless, a unanimous ranking of the 15 most important topics was received.

Some of the first of the top 30 unanswered questions reflect a need for more adequate research in order to predict or prevent preterm birth. Others include areas of intervention (for example preventing necrotising enterocolitis), and treatments for typical preterm diseases (for example life-threatening lung damage), breastfeeding in clinics and the question of how to determine pain in babies.

The most significant limitation of the study is that preterm birth is associated with factors such as lower socio-economic status and ethnicity. However, this group is not represented in the study, as the respondents were mainly white and included a rather high percentage of homeowners. Nevertheless, this study gives an important insight for relevant research areas.

All 104 conducted questions, and especially the top 30 and top 15 questions, are important references for future research. They show where further investigation is needed most.

Paper available to view here: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Full list of authors: Sandy Oliver, Seilin Uhm, Lelia Duley, Sally Crowe, Anna L. David, Catherine P. James, Zoe Chivers, Gill Gyte, Chris Gale, Mark Turner, Bev Chambers, Irene Dowling, Jenny McNeill, Fiona Alderdice, Andrew Shennan and Sanjeev Deshpande

DOI: 10.1186/s12884-019-2654-3