Patients’ and professionals’ experiences of DERM
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating the experiences of patients receiving, and professionals delivering, teledermatology DERM (Deep Ensemble for the Recognition of Malignancy) for the detection of suspected skin cancer.
IRAS ID
328177
Contact name
Jo Armes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Surrey
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
The number of referrals for suspected skin cancer made by GPs to dermatologists is increasing each year, and dermatology services are struggling to meet this demand.
Increasingly, areas of abnormal skin are assessed using digital images (teledermatology). DERM (Deep Ensemble for the Recognition of Malignancy) uses a form of artificial intelligence (AI) to assess these images to detect skin cancer. DERM has been shown to produce a reliable diagnosis, but has not been evaluated in a healthcare setting. This research project has been commissioned by The NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative to evaluate potential adoption of DERM by the NHS.
Aim
To assess the perceptions of staff and patients relating to the use of DERM to assess suspected skin cancer.
The study will be conducted at four NHS sites and will involve two work packages (WP). WP1 will explore the experiences of patients through surveys and interviews. WP2 will explore the experiences of the staff involved in delivering DERM at each site using interviews.
Participants
WP1: All patients (approximately 3000) who attend for DERM at the participating sites during the study period will be invited to complete the survey, and asked to provide their contact details if they are willing to be interviewed. We will aim to interview up to 40 patients (5-10 per site).
WP2: All staff involved in delivering DERM at each site will be invited to participate in an interview. We will aim to interview up to 40 members of staff (5-10 per site).Data collection
WP1: The survey will include questions about demographic details, experience and satisfaction with DERM. The interviews will explore answers to the survey in greater depth to find out more about how patients felt about DERM.
WP2:
The interviews with staff will ask them to provide more detail about their experiences of delivering DERM.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/WM/0114
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion