Connected Symptom Management for Patients and Carers

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Connected Symptom Management for Patients and Carers. Innovative, integrated and connected end-of-life care.

• IRAS ID

  272211

• Contact name

  Roma Maguire

• Contact email

  roma.maguire@strath.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Strathclyde

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 11 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  In end-of-life-care, it is widely acknowledged that people prefer to die at home. However, nearer the end of life, patients are sometimes admitted to hospital without due clinical cause. Reasons for this include poor communication, poor symptom management, lack of co-ordination of care, and distress of the carer. Surveys have shown that people are less likely to be satisfied with the quality of care at the end of life if they are in hospital.

  There is a need to support patients and their informal carers at home to provide them with the information they need for quality care, and to recognise crisis points that could lead to unnecessary hospitalisation. Digital health technologies offer the opportunity to remotely monitor patients' and carers’ experiences, identify crisis points and so reduce unnecessary hospital admissions. For such technology to be successful, it must address the needs of the patients, informal carers and healthcare professionals.
  
  This study will develop a prototype system that will allow real-time remote monitoring in the patients' home care setting to support patients receiving palliative care for advanced lung cancer and/or COPD in the last 6 months of life and their informal carers. The system will also alert issues of concern, in real time, to dedicated professionals at the care sites to enable the delivery of proactive and anticipatory care.

  The study has 2 distinct stages:
  1. Co-designing the content and functionality of the remote monitoring system
  2. Refining the electronic remote monitoring system.
  Patients with a diagnosis of either advanced lung cancer or cardiopulmonary obstructive disease, and carers (either current or past) as well as health professionals and technologists will co-design and develop the system. Participants’ contributions will likely involve just one qualitative interaction (interview, focus group or workshop).

• REC name

  West of Scotland REC 3

• REC reference

  19/WS/0167

• Date of REC Opinion

  22 Nov 2019

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion