Amara Nwosu

MBCHB FRCP PhD

Tag Archives: digital


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Digital health priorities for palliative care research

We have deposited our paper “Technology in Palliative Care (TIP): the identification of digital priorities for palliative care research using a modified Delphi method” on the medRxiv preprint server (ahead for formal peer reviewed publication)

The aim of this study was to identify research priority areas for digital health in palliative care.

This is first study to identify digital health research priorities for palliative care and provides guidance for researchers, funders and policy makers to consider areas for future research and development. 

We identified 16 research priority areas for technology in palliative care, representing 8 themes of big data, mobile devices, telehealth, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, the smart home, biotechnology and digital legacy.  Our findings will support researchers, clinicians and policy makers to improve the evidence base in these areas, through further research and development. This work is timely and important, as global palliative care need is increasing but there is a lack of evidence of how digital health can be meaningfully used to support care needs of people with advanced illness.  Therefore, it is important that the risks of using these technologies in palliative care are properly addressed to ensure that these tools are used meaningfully, wisely and safely and do not cause unintentional harm

The pre-print is freely available from the following link. Please note, that this has not been peer reviewed so should not yet be used to guide clinical practice.

Nwosu AC, McGlinchey T, Sanders J, Stanley S, Palfrey J, Lubbers P, Chapman L, Finucane A, Mason S. Technology in Palliative Care (TIP): the identification of digital priorities for palliative care research using a modified Delphi method. Medrxiv 2021. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.24.21259307

health technology design, vector illustration eps10 graphic
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Robotic technology for palliative and supportive care: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

How could robots help us at the end of life? Check out this open access article I published with some great co-authors.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269216319857628

What is already known about the topic?

  • Medical robots have mainly been used to support surgical procedures and for a variety of assistive uses in dementia and elderly care.
  • There has been limited debate about the potential opportunities and risks of robotics in other areas of palliative, supportive and end-of-life care.

What this paper adds?

  • The potential opportunities of robotics in palliative, supportive and end-of-life care include a number of assistive, therapeutic, social and educational uses.
  • There is concern that robots will exacerbate healthcare inequalities, disrupt the workforce and reduce face-to-face human interaction.

Implications for practice, theory or policy

  • Future work should evaluate the health-related, economic, societal and ethical implications of using robotic technology in palliative, supportive and end-of-life care.
  • There is a need for collaborative research to establish use-cases and policy recommendations to guide the appropriate use of robots for people with serious illness.

CLICK below to access the artilce

Nwosu AC, Sturgeon B, McGlinchey T, Goodwin CDG, Behera A, Mason S, Stanley S, Payne TR. Robotic technology for palliative and supportive care: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Palliative Medicine 2019.


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The future of digital health? the King’s Fund Digital Health and Care Congress 2017

Much written about the potential to use digital tools to reform healthcare, concentrate on the short to medium term (i.e. 5- 10 years). However, many of the benefits from digital health will only be fully realised in the longer (i.e. >10 years) term. This is because benefits arising from disruptive technologies may only be achieved following the implementation of cultural, workforce and infrastructural change, which can take time to achieve.

The King’s Fund Digital Health Conference recenty took place across two days in London (11th – 12th July) and provided an opportunity for profesionals from different disciplines to discuss how digital technologies can be used to transform healthcare delivery in the long term. There were several speakers and workstream groups which covered discussion of the opportunities and challenges of these approaches, in addittion to providing many examples of current use of technological and workplace innovation.

Particular highlights for me was Rob Shaw’s (Interim Chief Executive for NHS Digital) talk about the NHS Digital’s perpective on the importance of utilising health data better to provide integrated care. Also, Nicola Perrin (Wellcome Trust) provided an overview of the ‘Understanding Pataient Data’ project, which looks to improve awareness in society (professionals and lay people) about the value of using healthcare data to support patient care. Furthermore, the Wellcome Trust this year will undertake a project which will examine public perceptions of the role of new emerging technology (e.g. artificial intelligence, machine learning) in healthcare.

Many of the talks at the conference had inter-connecting themes; highlighting the importance of forming policy to shape culture through engagement of wider society and professionals. Although there is evidence of innovative work in several areas, a lot of fragmentation is currenty present. Consequently, it is important for collaborations of partners with a shared common vision for digital health.

As an academic palliative medicine physician I am interested in the potential digital health applications to support the management of people with serious illness. If anyone is also interested in undertaking work in this area, please feel free to contact me.

Further information of the King’s Fund Digital Health Conference (and other events by the King’s Fund) can be found here:

https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/events/digital-health-and-care-congress-2017

IMG_20170712_134205946


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MyPal Podcast: Undergraduate medical education in palliative care – interview with Dr Daniel Monnery – episode 10

I interview Dr Daniel Monnery (Speciality trainee registrar in Palliative Medicine in the Mersey Deanery) to discuss a variety of topics including: postgraduate training in palliative medicine, medical handover, undergraduate medical education and its relevance to palliative care.

Student in library

Copyright Dr Amara Nwosu, KingAmi media 2014. www.amaranwosu.com

Music by ‘Year of the Fiery Horse’ (YOTFH). Soundcloud link: @year-of-the-fiery-horse


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Funding for the development of the digital palliative care media – Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool (MCPCIL)

The Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool (MCPCIL) has recently been awarded a £1,750 grant from the Friends of the University of Liverpool to develop audio-visual palliative care content. This will hopefully lead to the development of vodcasts and podcasts which will provide a wide audience information about palliative care and the work of MCPCIL.

For more information about the work of the Marie Curie Palliative Liverpool please click here:
Dr Amara Nwosu’s wesbite:
Twitter:
The Friends of the University of Liverpool: