The Alpaca Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding views of real time monitoring and feedback of shared decision making in secondary care: a qualitative study.
IRAS ID
292800
Contact name
Angus GK McNair
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 27 days
Research summary
High-quality, patient-centred communication is a cornerstone of clinical practice in health services worldwide. Typically, this aims to enable patients to understand and deliberate the nature and potential consequences of treatment based upon personal values. Such communication can facilitate shared decision making (SDM). SDM for surgical treatments is a communication process between doctors and patients (and/or their families) where decisions are made together. Delivering high-quality SDM is, however challenging because effective SDM is unique to an individual. A local trust (North Bristol NHS Trust) has implemented a SDM quality improvement programme that captures patients' experience automatically and in real time using electronic patient reported outcome measurement (ePROM). Patients' ePROM scores will then be fed back to their doctors. Performance feedback was previously shown to play an important part in changing current practice for the better. At the moment, we do not know how or why monitoring of patients' experience in this way might lead to improvements. The aim of this study is to understand surgical patients’ and healthcare professionals’ views towards capturing ePROMs automatically and in real time. Specifically, qualitative methods with both stakeholder groups will be used to explore in more depth the i) acceptability of automated, real-time monitoring of patients' experience , ii) the impact of monitoring on clinical care. Results will be used to optimise the impact of the quality improvement programme at North Bristol NHS trust to improve SDM.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0091
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion