Patients and relatives recognising changes in patient wellness
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can patients and their relatives recognise changes in patient wellness to help improve the early detection of clinical deterioration in hospital?
IRAS ID
169129
Contact name
Abigail Albutt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds, Faculty Head of Research Suppot
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
It is increasingly recognised that patients can make important contributions towards their safety in hospital. A number of initiatives have encouraged patient involvement in patient safety. One area of patient safety that might benefit from the involvement of patients is improving the early detection of clinical deterioration in hospital. Although measures exist to improve early recognition and response to patient deterioration, some deteriorating patients continue to go unrecognised. It’s intuitive to think that patients and their relatives have knowledge of the patient and their norms, and may sense if the patient’s clinical condition is worsening but there is a lack of empirical evidence investigating this topic. Therefore, we will conduct a pilot study to pre-test a patient wellness measure that captures the extent to which patients and relatives can recognise changes in the patient’s clinical condition. The measure has been adapted for use with staff to capture their views on patients’ wellness. Hospitalised patients on four wards with the highest cardiac arrest rates per year and/or their relatives and staff based on those wards will be eligible. We are recruiting participants from wards with the highest cardiac arrest rates as this could indicate undetected patient deterioration prior to cardiac arrest. Patients will complete the measure when their observations are taken over five days (based on the average length of a hospital stay). Healthcare assistants taking the observations and relatives will prompt patients to complete the measure. Participants will then complete some feedback questions regarding the feasibility and acceptability of the study protocol, and understandability of the measure. Participants can complete the questionnaire themselves or the researcher can complete the questionnaire for them. Patients and relatives whose scores indicated that they thought the patient became more unwell in hospital will be asked about their concerns and how these were responded to.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0472
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion