Who is organising the research/project?
The Chief Investigator is Professor Jane Hopkinson, Velindre Professor of Nursing and Interdisciplinary Cancer Care. Patients will be recruited in Wales, UK at a single hospital site, Velindre Cancer Centre, or via the Tenovus or HCRW online Public Involvement platforms.
Cardiff University is the study Sponsor and has delegated the management of the study to the Centre for Trials Research (CTR) at Cardiff University, Wales, UK, and sub-contracted a new technical start-up company with a focus on healthcare software (Seastorm) to develop the I-EAT App.
The study has been funded by an Innovation for All grant from Cardiff University and has been reviewed and given favourable opinion by a Research Ethics Committee.
What is the research/project about?
The purpose of this study is to develop a digital based healthcare tool (App) called I-EAT to support self-management of good nutrition and adherence to the European guideline for recommended food intake during treatment for colorectal cancer. The European guideline supports nutritional status for good quality of life during treatment and good treatment response with prolonged life.
The researchers want to:
- Know how they can support guideline recommended oral nutritional intake during chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients with a digital resource.
- Find out what is an acceptable, user friendly and relevant digital resource for colorectal patients receiving chemotherapy and at risk of malnutrition?
This research has been developed using findings from their earlier research and systematic literature reviews.
The researchers aim to:
- Hold two stakeholder prioritisation workshops informed by our previous research
- Produce and user test a digital prototype of the I-EAT App
- Hold two refinement workshops to refine the prototype App
They will recruit up to 48 participants across all four workshops in total, with a maximum of 12 attendees per workshop, including:
- 24 patients with colorectal cancer
- 12 carers of patients with colorectal cancer
- 12 dieticians and/or other types of healthcare workers
If the BETRC DIGITAL study is successful, they will design a larger study to test I-EAT in the clinical setting and measure the effect of the App on nutritional status and quality of life during treatment for colorectal cancer.
Who can take part?
- Patients: 18 years or over with a diagnosis of Stage II-III colorectal cancer, experience of chemotherapy treatment (minimum two cycles), and no more than three months from the end of their chemotherapy treatment.
- Carers (identified by patients): who are 18 years or over with experience of providing (unpaid) emotional or physical support to a patient with Stage II-III colorectal cancer during their chemotherapy treatment.
Both types of participant must be able to provide written informed consent and have suitable computing facilities, an email account, and internet server access to allow attendance at a virtual teleconference.
What does taking part involve?
You will be asked to take part in up to two online workshops lasting approximately 2 hours each. At the workshop(s) the researchers will ask participants for their views about the App. They will use your comments to inform the development of the App and the design of a future study. You may also be asked to test the prototype App.
How can you get involved?
If you think you would like to take part, please email Dr Kim Smallman (smallmank@cardiff.ac.uk) and she will contact you with further information and discuss the next steps. Further information about the study and participant information can be found at: BETRC-Digital - Centre for Trials Research - Cardiff University