Impact of Nausea in Pregnancy Using Technology (INPUT) - A Clinical Research Study using CheckWare.
Study background “Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) is a frequently occurring but often debilitating condition that can have a profound impact on women’s quality of life. Women often attend their GP surgery, midwife clinic or secondary care provider seeking care and advice, however, once home women can feel unsupported or uncertain about seeking further support. Web based data collection This study aimed to assess whether a web-based data collection system (CheckWare) could be used to gather research data on three occasions over seven days, feedback appropriate reassurance or advice, so facilitating patient-initiated responses. The study was conducted at three secondary care sites and one primary care region in the North East of England and was led by a team based at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The participants Participants in INPUT were required to be over 18 years old, less than 17 weeks pregnant and have access to the internet for the week following recruitment. The study population were all comfortable using portable electronic devices and the internet therefore approaching potential women to participate in a web-based study was not a barrier. Most women who were approached to participate were willing to consent. Completed anywhere with immediate feedback Both the research staff and participants found the system very simple to navigate and the questionnaire format easy to complete. Participants liked the idea of automated reminders with the weblink embedded in the message, this added to the convenience, speed and ease of completion. The portable nature of the study meant the assessments could be completed almost anywhere, and the immediate feedback regarding symptom changes was very helpful. Robust data collection From a researcher perspective data completion was more robust, the prompts to complete all questions in the assessment were very beneficial and ensured more complete sets of data. CheckWare also negated the need for paper-based questionnaires, postage and subsequent data entry.
Convenience, speed and ease of completion. "To summarise, participants and research staff found the CheckWare system acceptable, easy to use, convenient and less burdensome than paper-based questionnaires, and it provided immediate data capture and feedback to participants and researchers quickly and with high quality”. Dr Catherine McParlin December 2018