'Urgent Words' smartphone application
Research type
Research Study
Full title
'Urgent Words' smartphone application
IRAS ID
278942
Contact name
Roger Barker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST and THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
An app has been developed to assist patients' decision making concerning post mail and email. The app is designed to enhance good decision making to allow the user to live autonomously, for longer. The app is not a medical device as defined within the MHRA flow chart, and confirmed by the MHRA team via devices.regulatory@mhra.gov.uk.
The impetus for this app came from a previous research project which suggested that some patients with neurodegenerative disorders do not effectively manage multiple pieces of information. Anecdotal evidence also suggested that these patients are subject to being defrauded through mismanagement of post mail and email.
The application is used to take or upload a photo. The photo is then scanned for specific words that have been deemed high risk, for example, "fraud" or "credit limit". The user then receives a summary of the findings, and sees the high risk sentence highlighted in their photo. The photo is not stored and any record of it is deleted immediately after the summary has been generated. The user can choose to share the summary with a single pre-designated person, e.g. a carer or trusted family member.
Several focus groups will be organised to discuss the app and its need with patients from the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair NHS HD Clinic. Patients will then be given the option to test the app at home for two weeks before completing a questionnaire about their experiences, its feasibility and usefulness.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
20/IEC08/0012
Date of REC Opinion
15 May 2020
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion