Neuro Digital: Outpatient Perspectives Study 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Neuro Digital: Patient, Carer and Clinician Perspectives on the Value Components of Neurological Outpatient Appointments
IRAS ID
287057
Contact name
Christopher Kipps
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 29 days
Research summary
Research Summary
The number of people living with a neurological condition is increasing. Various options are being developed in order to improve services for patients. The NHS long term plan identifies a need for care services to provide patients with more options, better support and properly joined up care at the right time, in the best setting.
Remote and digital care can support the aims of the NHS. ‘Remote care’ refers to care when the patient and their healthcare professional are interacting at the same time, just from a different locations. ‘Digital care’ refers to when the patient enters information online and this is reviewed by the care team at a different time or only when necessary. The Covid-19 pandemic led to a sudden increase in the use of remote and digital healthcare. It is likely that remote and digital healthcare will continue to play an increased role in healthcare delivery even when the current crisis is over and face-to-face patient contact is possible again.
In the hurry to move care online, an understanding of the value of face-to-face appointments must not be lost. Equally, it is vital to understand the benefits of remote and digital healthcare.
The Neuro Digital: Outpatient Perspectives Study uses interviews, focus groups and online groups of patients with neurological conditions, their carers and healthcare professionals. It asks what these groups value in face-to-face and remote outpatient appointments for people living with neurological conditions. It also asks how aspects of face-to-face appointments can be best moved to remote or digital care.
The study will last for 7 months. The findings will help find ways of combining face-to-face appointments with remote or digital technologies. We hope this will help to improve patient care and make better use of outpatient appointments.
Summary of Results
Background: The Covid-19 pandemic increased the use of remote and digital care delivery in neurology outpatient services. If we are to understand the effect of this transformation on care quality, we must first understand the individual value components of a neurology outpatient appointment that might be affected.
Aim: 1) To identify what patients and carers value in a neurology outpatient appointment (the value components) from a patient and carer perspective. 2) To identify potential changes in quality or considerations needed when moving the value component to remote or digital delivery.
Method: 40 patients and 9 carers participated in interviews, focus groups and an online forum. Transcripts of the interviews and focus groups and comments from the online forum were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results: We identified 18 value components, which were grouped into themes including ‘interaction with clinician’, ‘diagnosis’, ‘treatment’, ‘patient/carer knowledge’, ‘support and self-management’ and ‘well-being’. Considerations when moving each value component to remote or digital delivery were then identified, with patients and carers identifying potential benefits and challenges for quality.
Conclusion: This study determined the value components of outpatient appointments from a patient and carer perspective and potential implications and considerations in moving each of these value components to remote or digital care.REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EM/0188
Date of REC Opinion
4 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion