|
Hello Visitor,
Opportunity to contribute your valued expertise and opinion on the features that make spirometers user-friendly
We are seeking expressions of interest from clinicians who have experience using spirometers, especially in primary care or community practice.
We welcome EOIs from respiratory scientists, health workers, nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, medical assistants, exercise physiologists or other professions experienced in spirometry.
Relevant experience could include, but is not limited to:
- Performing spirometry in primary care/community practice
- Conducting spirometry training of those who perform spirometry in primary care/community practice
- Interpreting spirometry in primary care/community practice
- Familiarity with different spirometers frequently used in primary care/community practice
What is our aim?
Our aim is to develop a set of user-friendly criteria for spirometers used in primary and community care.
This set of expert-endorsed criteria can then be used:
- To objectively evaluate the user-friendliness of spirometers. This evaluation can then be a valuable guide when primary/community care practices are purchasing a new spirometer
- To guide spirometer manufacturers when they are developing/updating hardware and software of spirometers thereby enhancing their user-friendliness
What is involved after you submit an EOI ie how you will contribute expertise and opinion?
We will email you 3-4 successive survey links over a period of months.
Link 1: Participant consent and a brief set of questions about your experience with spirometry
Links 2-4: These surveys (Rounds 1 & 2, and Round 3 if required) will ask you to give your opinion of the importance of approximately 90 listed features of spirometers. Each survey will take 15-30 minutes to complete.
The objective of these surveys is to achieve a consensus of expert opinion of the importance of the listed features.
You will also have opportunity to suggest other features that should be added.
How to submit EOI or if you want to know more?
Please email johanna.cole@health.qld.gov.au or margaret.mcelrea@health.qld.gov.au indicating you are submitting an EOI or enquiry for the Spirometer Evaluation Study.
Please include:
- Your name
- Email address that you wish to be contacted at
- Best contact phone number
|
Study background
A team of respiratory scientists from Queensland Children’s Hospital are evaluating the user-friendliness of spirometer software and hardware used in Primary Care.
The investigators are involved with spirometry training in regional, rural and remote communities of Queensland. We have seen that many community-based health workers battle with spirometers that are not easy to use. Many spirometry training participants offer unsolicited comments of frustration about the spirometers used in their workplace compared to the more user-friendly ones we use in training. Additionally, we have noted that the awkward features of many spirometers have serious impact on user ability to achieve spirometry that meets current ATS/ERS standards.
We have identified approximately 90 features of spirometers relating to user-friendliness; for example data acquisition and display during testing session, infection control aspects and reporting results. Your input will assist in converting the list of features into a practical tool for the objective evaluation of user-friendliness in spirometers. This tool would be a guide for end-users as well as for spirometer manufacturers to make spirometers more user friendly. This study is not only relevant for Queensland but has the potential to have an impact on the manufacture of spirometers internationally.
We will be utilising the Delphi Consensus methodology to derive a final set of features for the evaluation tool.
|
|
Funding
The study is funded by:
ANZSRS Jeff Pretto Memorial Research Grant 2021
Statewide Clinical Networks (Queensland) 2021-2022 (Joint project: Statewide Respiratory Clinical Network, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Clinical Network, Rural and Remote Clinical Network).
|
|
Investigators
Margaret McElrea, Irene Schneider, Leanne Rodwell, Tamara Blake, Johanna Cole & Loren Grant.
Queensland Children’s Hospital Respiratory Laboratory, ph: 07 3068 2330; 07 3069 7272
|
|
