Quasi-experimental evaluation of an online health and well-being screening questionnaire (Digital Health Contact [DHC]) used in secondary schools in the UK
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN22788883 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN22788883 |
- Submission date
- 29/10/2020
- Registration date
- 23/02/2021
- Last edited
- 13/12/2022
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
A UK local authority area introduced an online questionnaire, called the Digital Health Contact (DHC). The DHC is a universal, online, health and well-being screening questionnaire delivered to secondary school children in years 7, 9 and 11. At-risk children, identified by the self-completed questionnaire, are offered an appointment with the school nurse. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this online health and well-being screening questionnaire (the Digital Health Contact). Specifically, whether the DHC affected the number of referrals to the school nurse and if this had a positive impact on the well-being of these young people.
Who can participate?
Students in years 7, 9 and 11 in participating schools
What does the study involve?
Once a year, children from participating schools in academic years 7, 9 and 11 complete the online questionnaire. The questionnaire covers general mental health topics such as depression and anxiety, as well as other public health topics such as diet and sleep. Responses are processed automatically, if a young person responds in such a way that indicates urgent, unmet needs (red flagged), a referral alert is sent to the school nurse. The nurse will organise a face-to-face consultation with the young person to conduct a health assessment. The researchers will analyse anonymous data from the DHC collected during the pilot phase (2017/2018) and the three subsequent years.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The data being analysed is anonymised secondary data, so there are no potential risks as a result of processing the data. However, it is anticipated that should the researchers find important results this may inform the further development of the DHC and potentially increase the uptake of it by additional schools. It is currently envisaged that the DHC may identify students who have developed any mental health difficulties or those who have health behaviours or concerns which may impair their educational performance or their long-term health, prior to them seeking help.
Where is the study run from?
University of Bristol (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2020 to April 2021
Who is funding the study?
NIHR School for Public Health Research- Public Health Practice Evaluation Scheme (PHPES) (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Frank de Vocht, frank.devocht@bristol.ac.uk
Dr Patricia Nicole Albers, patricia.albers@bristol.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
Canynge Hall
39 Whatley Road
Bristol
BS8 2PS
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0003-3631-627X |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0) 117 928 7239 |
| frank.devocht@bristol.ac.uk |
Scientific
Canynge Hall
39 Whatley Road
Bristol
BS8 2PS
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0001-5710-8483 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)117 928 7364 |
| patricia.albers@bristol.ac.uk |
Public
Canynge Hall
39 Whatley Road
Bristol
BS8 2PS
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0001-5710-8483 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0) 117 928 7364 |
| patricia.albers@bristol.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | This study is designed as a natural experiment to explore the effectiveness of a digital health and well-being screening tool used in schools, the study includes intervention and control schools, as well as repeated measures for a sub-sample of the population |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Non randomised study |
| Study setting(s) | School |
| Study type | Screening |
| Participant information sheet | No participant information sheet available |
| Scientific title | Evaluation of the Digital Health Contact (DHC): an online, school-based health promotion, screening and population health intelligence intervention for children and young people |
| Study acronym | DHC |
| Study objectives | Aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of an online health and well-being screening questionnaire (Digital Health Contact) implemented in secondary schools in the UK. Objectives: 1. To assess whether the DHC has affected the number of referrals to the school nurse and possibly onto further pathways of care 2. To assess whether the introduction of the DHC has resulted in a positive impact on the wellbeing of young people who were seen by the school nurse following their answers to the DHC |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 29/09/2020, University of Bristol Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee (First Floor South, Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TH, UK; +44 (0)117 331 8197; research-governance@bristol.ac.uk), ref: 110982 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Health, mental health, and well-being in school children |
| Intervention | The study includes an intervention arm and a control arm. The intervention schools received the DHC questionnaire for their Year 7, 9 and 11 students to complete while the control schools proceeded as usual. Data collected from both groups of schools were the number of referrals to the school nurse, attendance to referrals, and actions taken following consultation. The questionnaire is completed once a year by students in years 7, 9 and 11. The researchers will obtain 4 years of data which means for most students they should have two timepoints, while for some (those in year 11 in the first 2 years) they will only have one timepoint. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | Number of young people identified as having an unmet need (red flagged) identified based on the DHC, collected in Years 1 to 4 (2017 to 2020) |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Number of children that were referred to a school nurse recorded by the schools and provided by the data custodian 1.1. Number of children that attend these referrals recorded by the schools and provided by the data custodian 1.2. The onward actions including the number of onward referrals recorded by the schools and provided by the data custodian 1.3. Wellbeing measured using the DHC at participating schools, once per academic year |
| Overall study start date | 01/03/2020 |
| Completion date | 30/04/2021 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | All |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | There are 22 intervention schools, three of which were pilot schools. 1. Pilot = 687 students. 2. Full sample (additional 19 schools) = 3099 completed questionnaires, as of end of 2019/2020 academic year |
| Total final enrolment | 3786 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. All year 7 students in the participating schools with parental consent and who also provided assent 2. All year 9 and 11 students in the participating schools who provide consent |
| Key exclusion criteria | Does not meet inclusion criteria |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/09/2017 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/04/2021 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
Bristol
BS8 2PS
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
Beacon House
Queens Road
Bristol
BS8 1QU
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)117 928 9000 |
|---|---|
| red-office@bristol.ac.uk | |
| Website | https://bristol.ac.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/0524sp257 |
Funders
Funder type
Government
No information available
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- National Institute for Health Research, NIHR Research, NIHRresearch, NIHR - National Institute for Health Research, NIHR (The National Institute for Health and Care Research), NIHR
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 30/06/2022 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| Publication and dissemination plan | 1. A study report will be written for the funder (NIHR SPHR) describing all results and this will also be shared with the practice partner 2. A short leaflet describing the main results in lay terms will be developed for the practice partner and for the participating schools 3. With respect to academic output, the results will be published in articles submitted to international peer-reviewed journals 4. To facilitate faster dissemination to the scientific community the results may be presented at a national scientific conference |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available as the researchers are not the data controller and are merely processing the anonymised data. They are acting as processors of this data under a data-sharing agreement and unfortunately cannot agree to sharing the data. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | 16/02/2022 | 13/12/2022 | Yes | No | |
| Results article | 29/03/2022 | 13/12/2022 | Yes | No |
Editorial Notes
13/12/2022: Publication references added.
23/03/2022: The intention to publish date has been changed from 31/03/2022 to 30/06/2022.
19/02/2021: Trial's existence confirmed by the University of Bristol Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee.
