None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Less than half of all people at highest risk of a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event are receiving and adhering to best practice recommendations to lower their risk. In this project we examine the role of an e-health assisted consumer strategy as a means of overcoming such health system inefficiencies. With the implementation of the Personally Controlled E-Health Record (PCEHR) for all Australians in 2012, consumer focussed e-health is set to become a key component of the health system. Despite the scale of this initiative, few people even know of its existence and there is little research on the factors that will support its uptake. Innovative strategies that are practical to implement and support negotiation of care between consumers and care providers are therefore urgently needed.
Interventions
The intervention group will participate in the CONNECT programme which is a focused e-health strategy to assist with the management and prevention of CVD. Programme components focus on cardiovascular risk assessment, medication adherence, lifestyle change and seamless patient-provider communication. The CONNECT programme builds on a large program of work to develop a clinical decision support system for use in CVD risk management in primary care. We have previously built an electronic patient ca
The intervention group will participate in the CONNECT programme which is a focused e-health strategy to assist with the management and prevention of CVD. Programme components focus on cardiovascular risk assessment, medication adherence, lifestyle change and seamless patient-provider communication. The CONNECT programme builds on a large program of work to develop a clinical decision support system for use in CVD risk management in primary care. We have previously built an electronic patient care system termed HealthTracker. This system is integrated with the primary health care electronic health record and provides: (1) point of care decision support related to CVD prevention and management; (2) a computerised audit tool that provides rapid snapshots on health service performance combined with a recall and reminder system; and (3) access to a quality improvement web-based portal where health services can view monthly peer-ranked performance and access tools and resources to support quality care. CONNECT is essentially a consumer focussed e-health companion HealthTracker. CONNECT will be available to participants for up to 12 months and they will be free to use the programme at their discretion. Participants will be asked to keep a diary of their usage and we will monitor usage monthly via analytic software (eg, number and frequency of logins, duration of interaction and system components utilised). CONNECT was systematically developed through an iterative process and using user-centred design approach [Fogg 2003]. This process includes collaborative design workshops (including journey mapping and persona building), sketching and iterative validation by consumers. The portal will be accessible via the internet and also via a downloadable application for use on a mobile device. Within the portal, users will be able to interact with four key features: (1) their personal health record summary (e.g. diagnoses, current medications, , latest blood pressure, weight, cholesterol results); (2) interactive tools and resources (eg. the HealthTracker ‘heart age’ calculator that visually plots CVD risk projections and allows people to perform ‘what if scenarios’ to explore the relative risk reductions from various CVD risk factors); (3) motivational message prompts depending on their health profile (e.g. smokers wanting to quit will be able to receive a series of random messages over a 6 month period to assist with cessation); and (4) goal setting with virtual positive reinforcement.
Sponsors
The George Institute for Global Health
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Consenting adult patients (>18 years) with access to the internet at least once a month via mobile phone, tablet or computer who are at moderate to high risk of a CVD event. Moderate-high CVD risk is defined as any of the following: 1. Five year CVD risk great then or equal to 10% using the Framingham risk equation; 2. A clinically high risk condition (diabetes and age>60 years, diabetes and albuminuria, eGFR<45ml/min, systolic BP >180mmHg, diastolic BP >110mmHg, total cholesterol > 7.5mmol/L); 3. An established CVD diagnosis (ischaemic heart disease, stroke/TIA, peripheral vascular disease).
Exclusion criteria
Unable to speak sufficient English to provide written and informed consent.
Outcome results
None listed