Nikolaos Mastellos1, Grzegorz Bliźniuk2, Dorota Czopnik3, Mark McGilchrist4, Andrzej Misiaszek5, Piotr Bródka5, Vasa Curcin6, Josip Car7, Brendan C Delaney8, Anna Andreasson9. 1. Global eHealth Unit, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK, n.mastellos@imperial.ac.uk. 2. Faculty of Cybernetics, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland, The National Centre for Healthcare Systems, Warsaw, Poland. 3. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University in Wrocław, Wroclaw, Poland. 4. Division of Population Health Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. 5. Department of Computational Intelligence, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland. 6. Department of Primary Care and Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, King's College London, London, UK. 7. Global eHealth Unit, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK. 8. Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK and. 9. Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Family Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recruitment of study participants is a challenging process for health professionals and patients. The Translational Medicine and Patient Safety in Europe (TRANSFoRm) clinical trial tools enable automated identification, recruitment and follow-up in clinical trials, potentially saving time, effort and costs for all parties involved. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the acceptability and feasibility of TRANSFoRm to improve clinical trial recruitment in primary care. METHODS: A feasibility study was conducted in three general practices in Poland. Participants were physicians and patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Semi-structured interviews were held to obtain feedback about the usefulness, ease of use and overall experience with the TRANSFoRm tools and to identify potential usability issues. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS:A total of 5 physicians and 10 patients participated in the study. Physicians were satisfied with the usefulness of the system, as it enabled easier and faster identification, recruitment and follow-up of patients compared with existing methods. Patients found the TRANSFoRm apps easy to use to report patient outcomes. However, they also felt that the apps may not be useful for patients with limited exposure to smartphone and web technologies. Two main usability issues were identified: physicians could not access the result of the randomization at the end of each visit, and participants could not locate the follow-up reminder email. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new evidence on the acceptability and feasibility of TRANSFoRm to enable automated identification, recruitment and follow-up of study participants in primary care trials. It also helps to better understand and address users' requirements in eHealth-supported clinical research.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Recruitment of study participants is a challenging process for health professionals and patients. The Translational Medicine and Patient Safety in Europe (TRANSFoRm) clinical trial tools enable automated identification, recruitment and follow-up in clinical trials, potentially saving time, effort and costs for all parties involved. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the acceptability and feasibility of TRANSFoRm to improve clinical trial recruitment in primary care. METHODS: A feasibility study was conducted in three general practices in Poland. Participants were physicians and patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Semi-structured interviews were held to obtain feedback about the usefulness, ease of use and overall experience with the TRANSFoRm tools and to identify potential usability issues. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: A total of 5 physicians and 10 patients participated in the study. Physicians were satisfied with the usefulness of the system, as it enabled easier and faster identification, recruitment and follow-up of patients compared with existing methods. Patients found the TRANSFoRm apps easy to use to report patient outcomes. However, they also felt that the apps may not be useful for patients with limited exposure to smartphone and web technologies. Two main usability issues were identified: physicians could not access the result of the randomization at the end of each visit, and participants could not locate the follow-up reminder email. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new evidence on the acceptability and feasibility of TRANSFoRm to enable automated identification, recruitment and follow-up of study participants in primary care trials. It also helps to better understand and address users' requirements in eHealth-supported clinical research.
Authors: Emiel Boogerd; Nienke M Maas-Van Schaaijk; Theo C Sas; Agnes Clement-de Boers; Mischa Smallenbroek; Roos Nuboer; Cees Noordam; Chris M Verhaak Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2017-08-22 Impact factor: 5.428