Use of health technology by people with and at risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The access and use of health TECHnology by people with and at risk of Type 2 Diabetes (TECH-T2D)
IRAS ID
308734
Contact name
Sophie L Turnbull
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 15 days
Research summary
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic disease that affects a large number of people and creates a significant burden for patients and the health services that support them. There is a social gradient to T2D, whereby people with lower Socio-Economic Status (SES) experience both higher incidence and greater severity of illness than those with higher SES [1-3]. Resource restrictions mean that primary health services are not in a position to offer substantial interventions to prevent and manage T2D [4].
Health Technologies (HTs) have the potential to reduce health disparities, by increasing access to health interventions [5-7]. However, there is evidence that people with lower SES, are less likely to access and use HTs [8-11]. My previous qualitative research indicated that people with T2D face barriers accessing and using HTs, including: lack of knowledge about HTs and low levels of digital skills [30, 41]. However, this research was conducted prior to the COVID pandemic, which has dramatically changed the health context for people with T2D. Therefore, this work needs to be updated to include any new barriers or facilitators to access to HTs have emerged as a result of the pandemic. There is also an absence of research exploring how people at risk of T2D access and use health technology.
In this project I will conduct qualitative interviews with people with and at risk of T2D to understand how they access and use health technology. This will be used to identify barriers and facilitators to use of HT, which may lead to health inequalities. I will be exploring how the use of HT has changed since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. These findings will inform the development of an intervention, which aims to increase access to HT for people with and at risk of T2D from underserved groups.REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
21/NI/0202
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion