Research partnership launched investigating behaviour change

The new partnership with University of Exeter has been launched to investigate health behaviour changes through the use of HCI's multiple conditions app

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme is a world-leading programme that helps forward thinking businesses innovate and grow by connecting them to the UK’s wealth of academic resources. Led by Innovate UK, projects are designed to address a specific challenge or business need by linking companies with world class knowledge bases to deliver innovation projects led by inspired graduates.

As a company always looking for ways to use academic research to drive and build improvements in our digital solutions, this newly formed KTP will enable us to build on Exeter University’s academic expertise in digital health interventions to support behaviour change.

This partnership will help us to develop a deeper understanding into self-management best practice, and how to embed and apply this knowledge to all existing and future health conditions supported by our award winning app, CONNECTPlus.

Using new mixed methods research and behavioural science capabilities, the collaboration will allow us to assess user engagement far beyond platform usage statistics by:

• Conducting research to provide data about how users engage with CONNECTPlus including any barriers to effective engagement
• Creating condition specific theories of change and logic models for health conditions
• Collating evidence on the self-management of specific conditions to make evidence informed decisions regarding self-management behaviours.

The project will focus on patient engagement and self-management behaviours in multiple long term conditions.

HCI Founder and Director Richard Wyatt-Haines says

“CONNECTPlus is already supporting many patients to manage their health at home and that is resulting in a reduction in unnecessary appointments and phone calls, leading to time and cost savings for healthcare providers and patients.

We want to ensure CONNECTPlus continues to encourage and support patient-driven behaviour changes that are required to improve health on a national scale’

This KTP will ensure that research is at the heart of what we do and that we can then use it continuously to drive and build a better product based on facts and data.”

HCI will now work closely with Dr Jane Smith, a Senior Lecturer in Primary Care within the Exeter Academic Primary Care Collaboration (APEx) at the University of Exeter Medical School, Dr Samantha van Beurden, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with a background in psychology and behavioural medicine, and Natalie Grinvalds, who will act as the main research associate on the project.

The project will run for 2 years and we are really keen to talk to you if your department or hospital would be interested in using CONNECTPlus with your patients and becoming one of our test bed sites. More information on the app can be found here and please contact ellen@hci.digital to express your interest.