IVR pilot study

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Developing and pre-testing a tailored interactive voice response (IVR) intervention to support adherence to anti-hypertensive medications.

• IRAS ID

  209527

• Contact name

  Katerina Kassavou

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Cambridge

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 7 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  In England, there are 8 million people with hypertension. Treatment for hypertension usually consists of one or more as anti-hypertensive medications. Taking medication as prescribed can significantly reduce risks, complications and early deaths associated with this condition. However, many people with hypertension do not take their medication as prescribed. This reduces the effectiveness of their treatment. It also means that a lot of medicines are wasted, which costs the NHS several hundred million pounds a year.

  Nurses in primary care can support patients to take their medication as prescribed but have limited time. One promising approach is to use automated interventions such as “interactive voice response” (IVR) messages sent to the patient’s phone. This could be used to support patients between their visits to the practice. Our review found that IVR-based interventions (all conducted in the USA) can be effective. To explore the acceptability of IVR, we carried out face-to-face interviews with 20 patients and five nurses from local practices. We asked 13 of these patients to pre-test the IVR and got their experiential feedback using a think aloud qualitative study. Patients were enthusiastic about the idea, and nurses felt that it could provide useful support to patients between consultations. Both groups made helpful suggestions for intervention content.

  Building on these studies, we will develop a tailored IVR intervention for people with hypertension and ask 20 patients to try it out for 4 weeks. At the end of the intervention we will interview patients and nurses about their views on the intervention. We will also ask patients to complete a questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. The findings will help us to improve the intervention and extend it to 12 weeks. We will apply for more funding to test the intervention in a bigger study.

• REC name

  HSC REC A

• REC reference

  16/NI/0150

• Date of REC Opinion

  19 Aug 2016

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion