DECIDE-TAD Acceptability Testing Work Package 1.4

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Mixed methods co-design and evaluation of a Decision Support Tool to enable shared decision making for people who are considering cascade screening for Thoracic Aortic Disease: The DECIDE-TAD Programme. Acceptability Testing Work Package 1.4.

• IRAS ID

  351644

• Contact name

  Gavin Murphy

• Contact email

  gjm19@leicester.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Sheffield

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 5 months, 16 days

• Research summary

  Thoracic Aortic Disease (TAD) is a silent disease that doesn't show symptoms until it becomes really dangerous. The disease is characterised by a swelling or bulge in the aorta, which is the body’s largest artery. This project is looking to prevent the most dangerous thing that can follow, which is a tear in the aorta called an aortic dissection. Preventing Aortic disease is a national research priority for the NHS.
  TAD can be caused by mutations in DNA and may run in families. If the relatives of people with TAD are checked early, using scans and genetic tests, we might be able to find TAD sooner and save lives. However, there are problems getting in the way of this, like doctors and people not knowing enough about TAD, some groups of people not getting access to the right care, plus worries about the cost and how the tests might affect someone's life.

  We think the best way to fix these problems, is to create an interactive tool that provides information to help families make choices about being screened for TAD, based on what's important to them. We believe this will increase the number of people that get screened for TAD and find the disease early. This interactive tool is called a Decision Support Tool (DST).

  Work Package (WP) 1 of the DECIDE-TAD Programme is the co-development of the DST and the Implementation Toolkit which will be used to train doctors and other healthcare professionals on how to use the DST. This part of WP1 (WP1.4) is the acceptability testing of the DST and will involve patients with TAD, their close relatives and healthcare professionals, from two UK NHS hospitals taking part in interviews, or completing a questionnaire to give feedback on the DST.
  

• REC name

  London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/PR/0917

• Date of REC Opinion

  31 Jul 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion