Testing a new app for children with glue ear
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Testing a new application called Hear Glue Ear during the watchful waiting period of children with glue ear (Otitis Media with Effusion, OME)
IRAS ID
262154
Contact name
Tamsin Brown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS) NHS Trust R&D department
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
A software application (app) called Hear Glue Ear is available to download from Android or Apple 'App Stores' with the aim of giving families information (currently limited information is given as a leaflet) and activities for the child with glue ear to manage the condition and enhance developmental skills (such as speech, language, listening skills, auditory processing, and auditory memory) over the 'Watchful waiting' period between appointments. The study is aiming to see if parents, children and professionals/ clinicians like the app, use the app at home, can navigate around the app easily, and whether the simple hearing screen that can be used at home is accurate compared to the child's last hearing test. Children and their families will be invited to use the app after an audiology clinic visit where they have their first hearing test and are identified as having glue ear, they will be observed about how they first interact with the app (whether they find it difficult or easy to navigate) and asked questions about what they thin out the app. They will also be asked for their signed consent about whether they can be contacted (by email or text or telephone depending on the preference of the family and whether they consent to be contacted) after 1-2 weeks to see what their experience was of using the app at home (if they did indeed use the app at home). The families will be asked for the same opinion when they are seen at their next NHS hearing test appointment (usually 3 months after the first hearing test).
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
19/WA/0076
Date of REC Opinion
6 Mar 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion