The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has awarded a £1.3 million grant to four South East London based organisations to work on a research project that aims to determine how well a digital weight management tool can help people with obesity in the area.
It comes as part of seven new research projects funded by the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme, focused on medical devices, in vitro diagnostic devices and digital health technologies made to address an existing or emerging health need. The organisations working on this particular project are King’s College London, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, the Health Innovation Network South London and Roczen.
Led by Professor Emma Duncan, King’s College London and Dr Andrew Walker, Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, the project is said to explore whether Roczen, a NICE-approved digitally-enabled tier 3 weight management platform, can improve or maintain weight loss.
Founded by NHS obesity professionals, Roczen is a mobile app that provides patients access to services, including “dietary, behavioural and medical interventions, inclusive of pharmacotherapy, which are tailored to the individual patient and include long-term follow up”. This is alongside “expert guidance on eating behaviours, nutrition and physical activity”, as well as offering peer support.
Professor Emma Duncan commented: “Our study exemplifies translational research as we take novel digital innovations into the clinical space. We hope this project will show that proven interventions can be delivered virtually to help people living with obesity, whoever they are, wherever they are and whenever they want, cost-effectively and sustainably”.
The team are planning on looking at three key areas including, the effectiveness of offering Roczen to people on waiting lists for weight management services, the effectiveness of offering Roczen to people leaving specialist care to help them continue to manage their weight and the practicalities involved when incorporating digital weight management into the NHS.
Find out more about this project here. And if you’re interested in the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme, you can read more on it here.
Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London have also recently unveiled results from a large, multi-site clinical trial on voice hearers. Working with collaborators around the UK to test AVATAR therapy, they’ve reportedly seen “significant promise” in reducing the frequency and impact of distressing voices for those with schizophrenia. The new therapy enables them to create and then have a dialogue with an animated digital representation of the main distressing voice they hear, giving them the control. Read more here.
The expanding role of mobile apps in healthcare: the wider trend
Earlier this year, we reported on a study published in The Lancet, which outlined how a research team sought to identify which behaviour change techniques worked best for diabetes self-management mobile apps. Results indicated that self-monitoring of behaviour as a behaviour change technique and taking medication as a target behaviour were both associated with improved metabolic outcomes.
Leeds City Council recently launched a new digital hub offering support and advice on sexual health in a quick and accessible way. It aims to give valuable information specifically aimed at young people, to keep them informed about emergency contraception and testing for STIs, pregnancy and HIV.
And finally, in October there was a proposed trial to have women with concerning lumps be directly referred to a breast diagnostic clinic via 111 online on the NHS app. The aim was to support faster diagnosis, reducing stress and freeing up GP appointments, with the scheme said to be localised to the Somerset area and plans to carry out evaluations before further roll-out to be considered.
To learn more about digital transformation in healthcare, as well as expert insights into upcoming studies and research, make sure you check out our latest panel discussions.
