Sensor Technology to Assses Overnight Care Needs in Care Homes v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Sensor Technology to Assess Overnight Care Needs in Care Homes
IRAS ID
230375
Contact name
Jonathan Synnott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Ulster University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Residents in care homes who have advanced care needs may require long-term, one-to-one supervision in order to ensure resident safety and wellbeing. Such supervision typically takes place for 8 hours over the night-time period, and assists with issues including toileting, turning in bed, agitation and wandering. This care is provided by third party contractors and commissioned by a HSC Trust as a care package. The care is of clear benefit to many residents, however, the need for this very expensive care is often overstated by both the care providing contractor, and the family of the affected resident. As a result, it is difficult to objectively assess how much this care is required, and once it is in place, it is difficult to reduce the care package if needs change.
The Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT) is currently collaborating with Ulster University to investigate the use of novel sensor technology to objectively assess the extent to which this one-to-one care is required or used. We will investigate the use of technologies including: thermal sensors, door contact sensors, bed pressure sensors, Near-Field Communication (NFC) tags, sound level sensors and Bluetooth beacons. Each of these technologies has been selected due to its unobtrusiveness and safety.
The study will take place in suitable care homes identified and owned by the NHSCT. Privacy and dignity are at the very heart of this technology, and no thermal data will be visible to the care team. This study will not result in any increase or decrease in the amount of care provision offered to participants, rather, the study will investigate if the information captured by this technology accurately reflects the observations made by the care team. The study will not collect clinical data, rather, the data will reflect general activities within the environment.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
17/NI/0154
Date of REC Opinion
4 Oct 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion