Setting research priorities for the use of digital technology in the self-management of heart health: the results of the James Lind Priority Setting Partnership.

Abstract

AIMS: There are wide inequalities in access to cardiovascular care, and risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity are often not well managed. We aim to identify the most important questions about how digital technologies can help people and their carers prevent cardiovascular disease and improve access to care. METHODS AND RESULTS: A priority setting partnership that aimed to generate a top 10 list of research priorities for the use of digital technology in the prevention and management of heart disease and heart conditions in the UK and Ireland, with equal input by people with lived experience and healthcare professionals. James Lind Alliance methodology was used. An initial open survey gathered research ideas, which were filtered, categorized into summary questions, and then checked against existing literature. An interim survey asked respondents to select up to 10 questions that they considered most important. The top 20 ranked questions were discussed at a final workshop. Ninety-nine respondents (62.2% with lived experience) submitted 422 questions. After removal of out-of-scope uncertainties and the creation of unanswered summary questions, 42 uncertainties were ranked by 133 respondents (73.7% with lived experience). The top 10 questions were agreed at the final workshop, and the top three were: How can technology help people to prevent and manage a heart problem if they have one? How can technology give individualised support to help people manage their heart health? and How accurate and reliable is technology to measure and manage heart health and heart risk factors? CONCLUSION: Future funding should be directed towards research questions identified by patients and healthcare professionals.