Staff and user experience on transdermal alcohol sensor devices
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Service staff and user experience of a 1-week wear of a transdermal alcohol sensor device: Acceptability of these devices within a clinical population
IRAS ID
307401
Contact name
Paolo Deluca
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 0 days
Research summary
This study is going to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a Transdermal Alcohol Sensor (TAS) device with clinical population patients (patients who are currently accessing treatment from an alcohol service for their alcohol use), as well as with staff (who are involved in patient care) working in alcohol treatment services. This study aims to identify barriers to implementation within treatment, evaluate device accuracy and assess the use of incentives for compliance of engagement and returning the device.The patient participants recruited will wear the device for 7 days, then complete a post wear survey, Time-Line Follow Back (TLFB) and semi-structured interview. The post-wear survey will be used to explore the user experience while the TLFB to determine device accuracy against self-report. The interviews will further explore their experience.
Staff participants will be recruited to complete one semi-structured interview with the researcher, on their view on device acceptability, feasibility, and any potential barriers they foresee in implementing the device within services.
The study will be conducted at three SLaM NHS alcohol services and will last approximately 10 weeks. We are studying how the intended population of this device (patients receiving alcohol treatment from their alcohol service) experience wearing the device. From this, we can see barriers to use, including but not limited to: comfort, personal and social discomfort of the device, wearing or charging issues, in addition to device accuracy. This is important to inform future research on the application of transdermal alcohol sensor devices. This is a growing field of interest and in recent years there has been an increase in the number of transdermal alcohol sensor devices being developed. Currently, there is no published study, to our knowledge, which conducts questionnaires with clinical staff and service users, who have worn the device over an extended length of time.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0426
Date of REC Opinion
27 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion