Longitudinal Observation of NHS Staff Wellbeing Following Introduction of the I-care Peer Support App (I-Care)

Longitudinal Observation of United Kingdom NHS Staff Wellbeing Following Introduction of the I-care Peer Support App

The coronavirus pandemic has had demonstrable impact upon healthcare workers. For healthcare workers this has meant disruption to vital access to peer support networks. In May 2020 the United Nations (UN) published a policy brief highlighting the importance of supporting mental health and wellbeing for communities affected by coronavirus. There is a need to find innovative solutions to facilitate support in the post-COVID-19 era and some innovations are emerging to fill this void but an evidence, long-term, sustainable, solution is yet to be proposed. In response, a digital app has been co-developed by UK researchers and healthcare staff with the intent to facilitate a virtual peer support mechanism for National Health Service (NHS) staff.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Peer Group
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: I-care app

Detailed Description

Rationale: The coronavirus pandemic has had demonstrable impact upon healthcare workers. For healthcare workers this has meant disruption to vital access to peer support networks. In May 2020 the United Nations (UN) published a policy brief highlighting the importance of supporting mental health and wellbeing for communities affected by coronavirus. There is a need to find innovative solutions to facilitate support in the post-COVID-19 era and some innovations are emerging to fill this void but an evidence, long-term, sustainable, solution is yet to be proposed. In response, a digital app has been co-developed by UK researchers and healthcare staff with the intent to facilitate a virtual peer support mechanism for National Health Service (NHS) staff.

Aim: The main aim of this research is to determine the acceptability and efficacy of the newly developed I-care app to facilitate peer-support for NHS staff wellbeing.

Methods: A mixed methods study with concurrent process evaluation will be conducted to explore the acceptability and efficacy of an app-based peer support platform for use by anyone working within Solent NHS Trust with access to an android mobile phone device. Data will be generated from quantitative app usage, binary survey responses, and qualitative interviews.

Populations: All staff within Solent NHS Trust with an android mobile phone will be considered eligible to use the app.

Duration: Data will be collected at one, three, six, and 12-months post app launch.

Expected outcomes: As the innovation developed has spanned biomedical, behavioural and computing science a range of exploratory methods are proposed to establish the reach and uptake of the innovation, early indication of a potential causal model explaining how the innovation could lead to benefit, identification of key components of the innovation as identified by end users, and estimation of overall acceptability and efficacy.

• Study Type: Observational

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Hampshire
    • Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom, SO17 1BJ
      • Lindsey Cherry

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

All staff within a single UK Health Trust with an android mobile phone will be considered eligible to use the app.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All staff within a single UK Health Trust with an android mobile phone will be considered eligible to use the app

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not employed within the designated Trust
• Under 18 years of age
• Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Wellbeing	Most frequent response (A/B/C).	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Engagement	Number of participants who have provided a rating	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Southampton
• Collaborators: Solent NHS Trust
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lindsey Cherry, PhD, University of Southampton & Solent NHS Trust

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 2, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): March 22, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 16, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 11, 2022
• Last Verified: November 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: digital health; app; peer support; wellbeing; healthcare workforce
• Other Study ID Numbers: 61764

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No