TERMS - Technology Enabled Remote Monitoring in Schools
Since the pandemic, NHS Wales eating disorder and weight management services have reported a significant rise in clinical needs, resources, referrals and waiting lists.
Funding for this project was awarded by the Health Foundation Q-Lab to scope out the potential for Technology Enabled Remote Monitoring in Schools.
It's investigated how we might design and deliver a timely, efficient, and pupil-centred remote monitoring service in secondary schools to help support and manage disordered eating.
Project aims
The aim of the study was to understand the potential that Technology Enabled Care could offer to support the interface between education and health, by:-
- Networking and exploring opportunities across education, health and policy.
- Conducting stakeholder workshops to establish priorities
- Co-design proposed new ways of working – service and technical
- Write up of findings to inform next stage
- All Wales
Health Foundation Q-Lab Funding
Catch up on all the key milestones and updates:
Late 2022
Starting in late 2021, ongoing planning and discovery meetings and workshops have been in place with Q-lab to share our ideas for remote monitoring within schools. The project team have now also identified that the healthcare speciality ‘mental health’ with sub-speciality ‘eating, nutrition, wellbeing’ will be the basis for remote monitoring in schools.
March 2022
Young people advisors team created the ‘TERMS’ (Technology Enabled Remote Monitoring in Schools) logo. This design process encapsulated the young persons’ thinking through documented photographs and commentary.
March 2022
A rapid review scoping and investigating local and national available data into remote monitoring within schools was completed in March 2022. The aim of this review was to highlight the gaps within the current literature and data, and form recommendations to go forward with the remote monitoring Q-Lab project.
April- May 2022
Team of researchers conducted 3 workshops within schools with pupils from years 7-13 to peer review the proposed model to date, and gain feedback and suggestions.
May 2022
Variety of resources co-designed and created including a newsletter and a video
June 2022
A write up is underway to propose a bid for additional funding to pilot test this concept. The pilot will aim to test the TERMS proof of concept/protocol in a live environment in real-time, using remote monitoring technology and a clinical-education facing dashboard. The pilot will include secondary school aged pupils across all of Wales.
The initial stages taught us that the concept had buy-in from clinical, educational and policy partners; therefore, the next step is to see how this concept plays out in a live environment.
It is crucial to be able to work with such a multi-disciplinary team right from the outset to ensure that the aims of the project are in-line with current times, particularly the school environment
Discussions were had within the team and with external stakeholders surrounding the use of terminology within the project around whether ‘eating’ should be used, this has been discussed with the young people advisory team.
Letters have been sent out to schools explaining that the team will run a series of design workshops within the chosen schools to discuss Q-Lab ideas with young pupils and school staff. Alongside letters, focus group questions and interactive activities have been drafted for the purpose of the workshops.
- Clinical visits (GPs, mental health and eating disorder specific) will be arranged to discuss the ideas and the reality of them fitting within healthcare.
- A TERMS twitter (@TERMSCymru) poll revealed that 73.3% of individuals believe that remote monitoring would be useful within school settings.
- A newsletter has been created by the young people advisors to keep the Q-Lab team and other stakeholders updated regularly of any developments with the project.