Sensors for healthcare
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Sensors for healthcare: a socio-technical assessment of glucose monitoring in Bradford
IRAS ID
329436
Contact name
Jonathan Ensor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of York
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 5 days
Research summary
WHY and WHAT: There is growing concern over the way medical devices can perpetuate or even exacerbate health inequalities. Patients should be at the forefront of the design and deployment of technological solutions to ensure these innovations are relevant to them and their lives and drive equitable access and outcomes. We aim to undertake diagnostic social science research to inform the development of new methods to integrate patients in the design and deployment of medical devices, focussing here on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technologies. Using the SHTEPS (Social, Health, Technology / Financial, Environmental, Political / Institutional, Sustainability) analytical framework (see below), we will engage participants in facilitated discussions of their experiences of access and use of these sensor technologies. This study will inform the further refinement of this analytic framework, along with future methodologies aimed at fostering more equitable approaches to technology design, development and deployment.
WHO and WHERE: Participants will be type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients who use (or have previously used) continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology and they will be recruited through the Diabetic clinic at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
HOW: We will undertake a small number of focus group discussions and interviews with T1D patient cohorts in Bradford to explore the patient perspective and experiences of CGM technologies. By engaging these groups in terms of access to healthcare provision, health inequalities and socio-economic context, we will be able to provide insights into the role context plays in determining the outcomes of technologies to inform the design, development and deployment of future healthcare technologies.
Output: We anticipate that this work will provide a peer-reviewed journal paper providing a socio-technical analysis of uptake and use of diabetes monitoring technology.
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
24/WA/0362
Date of REC Opinion
4 Dec 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion