CityVerve COPD project
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can Internet of Things (IoT) technologies enhance self-efficacy and self-management in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? : an exploratory study
IRAS ID
231016
Contact name
Ann-Louise Caress
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
R119287 , Computer Science
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a long-term lung condition estimated to affect over 1.2 million people in the UK. Death rates from COPD world-wide are increasing rapidly. Common symptoms include breathlessness, cough, fatigue and altered mood. The condition is managed by a combination of medication, exercise and patient education. Patients are offered a structured programme (Pulmonary rehabilitation PR), which focuses on education, exercise and self-management. Medication and PR are effective, if the principles and methods are sustained. However, air quality, temperature, inhaler technique and fear of worsening symptoms affect patient compliance and symptom experience.
COPD has great potential to yield benefits from advanced technologies (e.g. mobile phone applications, ‘smart’ devices and sensors to detect movement or environmental conditions), collectively known as ‘Internet of things (IoT) technologies’, but their application is currently limited.
CityVerve (http://www.cityverve.org.uk/what-is-cityverve/) consists of a number of research projects, acting as ‘demonstrators’ for a range of IoT technologies, exploring the ‘added value’ of combining technologies.
This project poses the question: Could information gleaned and collated from IoT technologies be useful and/or acceptable to patients and their clinicians in the day to day management of COPD?
Participants living on or close to ‘Corridor Manchester’ (http://www.corridormanchester.com/) will be recruited via primary or secondary care clinics or websites and databases. Study participants will complete 3 questionnaires (pre and post study), use a smart inhaler for 8 weeks, and have up to four sensors placed in their homes to record humidity, temperature, light and movement. A smaller sub-sample (N=12-15) will undergo an individual interview after the technology usage period.
Patients will receive feedback/reminders/encouragement via the phone app. With consent, individual data will be shared with named clinicians to assist patient care and decision making. Only aggregated/pseudonymised data will be shared more widely.
Also 12 healthcare professionals will be interviewed individually.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NW/0205
Date of REC Opinion
15 May 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion