Step Home Trial: Physical Activity in the Post-operative Setting
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Step Home Trial: Utilising Physical Activity Data in the Acute Post-operative Setting
IRAS ID
177761
Contact name
Richard Kwasnicki
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
This is an observational study, which aims to assess how physical activity levels following surgical procedures correlate with patient recovery and length of hospital stay, as well as the utility of this physical activity data to the post-operative surgical team.
Surgical teams frequently enquire about their patients’ physical activity levels on post-operative ward rounds. Although this information is often provided anecdotally by nursing staff and junior doctors, there are no objective data made available to the clinician.
Such data has the potential to supplement other observations (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, temperature) to help gain an impression of a patient’s recovery and physical status, this in turn could provide evidence to help facilitate early discharge as well as to predict medium to long-term outcomes.Advances in wearable technology allow us to collect detailed information with regard to activity with minimal disruption. Recent literature has shown that these wrist-worn sensors can feasibly be worn in hospital pre and post-operatively, with evidence of a correlation between the amount of steps taken post-operatively and the length of hospital stay.
This study will provide further evidence for the usability and utility of wearable sensors in the inpatient surgical setting. It will provide supporting evidence for surgeons to confidently analyse and assess patients in hospital, allowing for safe and expedient discharge home as well as identify high-risk patients who are likely to require extra support and surveillance in the community setting.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1038
Date of REC Opinion
4 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion