Clinical effectiveness of the Patient Wellness Questionnaire
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Clinical effectiveness of the Patient Wellness Questionnaire for predicting clinical patient deterioration in hospital
IRAS ID
258668
Contact name
Abigail Albutt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
It is increasingly recognised that patients can contribute towards their safety in hospital and initiatives have encouraged patient involvement in patient safety. One area of patient safety that might benefit from the involvement of patients is improving the early detection of clinical deterioration in hospital. Although measures exist to improve early recognition and response to patient deterioration, some deteriorating patients continue to go unrecognised. It’s intuitive to think that patients have knowledge of their norms, and may sense if their condition is worsening but there is limited empirical evidence investigating this topic.
In a previous study, questions that ask patients for their views on changes in their wellness were developed with patients and health professionals. Patients and staff feedback on whether the questions were understandable. We have established that patients can give information about their wellness during observation using the Patient Wellness Questionnaire (PWQ). In a further study, healthcare assistants on 4 wards asked patients the Patient Wellness Questionnaire during routine observation for a month. The association between patient-reported wellness and National Early Warning Score (NEWS) was explored. An NEWS is calculated during routine observation by measuring patients’ vital signs. Significant associated were found between patient-reported wellness and NEWS and vital signs recorded during subsequent observations to indicate that what patients say about their wellness can predict changes in their condition.
Further evidence about the relationships between patient-reported wellness, NEWS and vital signs is needed because firm conclusions cannot be drawn from the small-scale study findings. The current study will provide larger-scale, robust evidence about these relationships and advance the previous study by exploring whether patient-reported wellness can predict outcomes such as cardiac arrest and time to discharge. This will help us understand whether asking patients routinely about their wellness during observation is effective at improving early detection of clinical deterioration.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0067
Date of REC Opinion
24 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion