Mobilising knowledge about safety to patients using a smartphone app
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mobilising knowledge about safety to patients using smartphone technology: empowering patients to enhance safety in surgical care
IRAS ID
231987
Contact name
Stephanie Russ
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 0 days
Research summary
Research suggests that around 1 in 10 patients entering NHS hospitals will experience an unintended error (termed an ‘adverse event’) in their care. Analysis of research figures shows that surgical patients are at greater risk of experiencing an adverse event than patients admitted for any other type of treatment. Improving surgical safety is therefore a priority for NHS England.
Numerous tools have been introduced to surgical settings to help staff make fewer errors, however, being at the centre of their care, patients and their families can also help to improve safety and outcomes if they are appropriately informed of the potential risks.
The current project aims to explore how we can translate what the evidence tells us about the causes of error in surgery into a format that is usable by patients and their carers/family to improve their own safety.
Specifically, the study evaluates a smartphone app, called MySurgery, which has been designed to help patients understand the risks associated with having surgery and inform them of the actions they can take to improve their safety and recovery. MySurgery is animated and jargon-free and takes patients through how to prepare for surgery, what to expect from their care, the warning signs to look out for, what information to provide and the questions to ask.
The study will have 3 phases:
- Phase 1 will qualitatively explore service providers’ (surgical staff and hospital management) perceptions of MySurgery, the impact it might have on care, and how it should be used and introduced.
- Phase 2 will be an evaluation of the app with real surgical patients using questionnaire in pre-operative clinics. A sub-set of patients will also be asked to complete reflective diaries about the perceived impact of the app across their surgery.
- Phase 3 is dissemination.REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0060
Date of REC Opinion
7 Feb 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion