Using patient blogs to measure self-care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using qualitative analysis of patient blogs to inform development of automated measurement of self-care with text mining and sentiment analysis
IRAS ID
200572
Contact name
Kate Button
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
The aim of this study is to obtain patients’ views about their recovery, via a series of private blog posts. Text mining technology will be used to convert the qualitative information collected into a novel way of measuring recovery for individuals with knee pain. In the future, this will be used to provide instant feedback to a clinician about a patient’s recovery and help plan their treatment. This new measure could replace the use of “one-size-fits-all“ type of traditional questionnaires and capture information specific to individual patient circumstances, thus offering a potential to identify their unmet needs and personalise their treatment. \n\nTo take part in this study, you need to be an adult aged over 18 who is currently experiencing knee pain for which you are undergoing physiotherapy. You will need to have Internet access and be able to read and write English with native-like proficiency. You taking part in the study will involve using a private and secure blogging platform to answer questions about your knee treatment and recovery. Examples of the questions you will be asked include: \n\n\tCan you describe knee pain you have experienced over the past 7 days? \n\tCan you describe your experience in participating in everyday activities (e.g. shopping, driving) over the past 7 days?\n\tHow confident do you feel about looking after your knee on your own?\n\tWhat treatments are you currently using for your knee?\n\nYou will be asked to answer questions on a weekly basis for four weeks. You will receive email or text prompts to answer new questions. It will take up to 10 minutes to complete a weekly question-answering task. After signing a consent form you will receive quick-start training in using the blogging platform. Only the members of our research team will have access to your information, which will be stored securely at Cardiff University. Participation in this study will not affect the treatment you receive for your knee.\n
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0513
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion