CompletedNot Applicable

Measuring the Recovery of Barts Health Patients With Electronic Follow-up

United Kingdom314 participantsStarted 2023-10-20

Plain-language summary

More and more people are surviving emergency, life-threatening illnesses. However, survival often comes at a cost to patients' wellbeing. Many suffer from being so ill in ways not necessarily related to their original illness. Patients struggle with their normal activities of daily living or to do the job they did before. They struggle to live independently, to enjoy a normal diet, or to be pain-free. This leads to a decrease in their quality of life, placing a burden on families. Investigators don't have a good method of highlighting and representing the issues faced by these patients. Investigators have recently implemented a service innovation project, using an an app-based questionnaire in two groups (patients that survive emergency surgery, and those who survive critical illness) to highlight these problems early, so that individuals are offered the right help and services to return to living their lives as fully as possible. Patients will be asked to fill in an electronic (on-line) questionnaire while in hospital, and at 1 and 6 months afterwards. Along side this investigators intend to perform a qualitative assessment of the value and acceptability of this project. Investigators will interview patients approximately 2-3 weeks after the questionnaire completion at 1 and 6 months to determine how easy it was to use, how acceptable the process was and how well it described and highlighted their problems. If this system works, it would become part of routine care, extended to patients admitted as emergencies to hospital, and used to develop a national program for all UK hospital patients

Who can participate

Age range

18 Years – 110 Years

Sex

ALL

See this in plain English?

AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients undergoing emergency laparotomy, regardless of admission to the Adult Critical Care Unit. * Patients requiring Level 3 care admitted to the Adult Critical Care Unit with length of stay of \>56 hours * Clinical staff involved in the pathway of care affected by the ePRO. * Purposive sampling to include patients based on age, gender, ethnicity, language spoken, digital literacy and reason for admission Exclusion Criteria: Those patients \<18 years of age * Those not expected to survive 3 months post discharge; as per clinical decision making * Patients unable to consent to and without carers able to consent;

Questions worth asking your doctor

Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.

1Based on my diagnosis and history, is this trial worth exploring for me — or is there a standard treatment we should try first?
2What does this trial's phase tell us about how much is already known about its safety and benefit?
3What would taking part actually involve for me — visits, tests, time, and travel?
4What are the known and possible risks or side effects I should weigh, and how would they be monitored?
5If this trial isn't the right fit, what other options or trials would you suggest I look into?

Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.

Questions for the trial coordinator

The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.

1What does taking part actually involve week to week — how many visits, where, and how long does each one take?
2What costs are covered by the study, and what might I have to pay for myself, including travel, parking, or time off work?
3What happens during screening, and what happens if the study team confirms I don't meet the criteria after those tests?
4Who pays for the scans, blood work, and other tests the trial requires — the study, my insurance, or me?
5How will being in the trial affect my regular care, and will my own doctor stay informed and involved?
6Can I leave the trial at any point if I change my mind, and what would happen to my care if I do?

A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.

What they're measuring

This is a qualitative study exploring the feasibility and acceptability of the electronic HRQoL

Timeframe: 6 months to one year

Trial details

NCT IDNCT06038045

SponsorQueen Mary University of London

Sponsor typeOTHER

Study typeOBSERVATIONAL

Primary completion2025-02-28

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