LOCOMOTION September 2022 Newsletter
Recruitment to the LOCOMOTION study reached 1288 in September!
Updates and upcoming work from LOCOMOTION workstreams (WSs):
- WS 1.1 - Quality Improvement Collaboratives (QICs) have taken place on Fatigue and Inequalities. QICs involve Healthcare Professionals from the participating NHS clinics coming together to engage in a 6-weekly cycle of facilitated meetings in which they; identify topics, set goals, identify data sources, undertake an improvement cycle of implementing change and collecting data, then repeat.
- WS 1.1 - QIC on Vocational Rehab is taking place on 12th October, and patient-focussed workshop in November to prioritise and plan Year 2 work.
- WS 3.1 - Transparency Notice approved by CAG (Confidentiality Advisory Group). CAG advise the HRA (Health Research Authority) whether applications to process confidential patient information without consent should be approved, this is required when seeking patient consent in certain circumstances is not feasible. Our transparency notice informs patients how their data will be used and how they can opt-out.
Study and Site Updates:
- NIHR Progress Report submitted: Study on track and meeting revised timelines. - Our 6-monthly report to the NIHR provides them with updates on our progress against objectives, engagement undertaken (with policy makers, clinicians, health and social care management, private sector, etc.) to maximise project outputs, academic partnerships, patient and public involvement, lessons learned, and outputs from the study.
- A successful meeting of the External Advisory Group (EAG) - Our EAG meets every 6-months to provides advice and challenge, working with us to identify and prioritise areas where we can make most progress. The group consists of members of the study team, independent experts, and public partners, from across the UK (and international representation!) and from a wide variety of roles and professions. The recent meeting provided positive feedback and informative discussion.
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have opened as a LOCOMOTION site and have begun recruiting participants into the study!
September News Items:
- ELAROS win ‘Collaboration with Industry’ Award - ELAROS are one of the technology partners in the LOCOMOTION study. They created the digital system which hosts the COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS) questionnaire.
- LOCOMOTION CI joins WHO COVID-19 meeting in Tel Aviv - Manoj (LOCOMOTION Chief Investigator) joined the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Regional Meeting to discuss the health services response to Long COVID.
Publications relevant to the LOCOMOTION study:
- The first paper of the BMJ ‘Practice pointer’ series was published. The Long covid—an update for primary care publication provides information on, the definition of Long COVID, symptoms and case definition, questions patients ask, resources for patients and healthcare professionals, and a ‘Guide for Primary Care’ infographic. It has already received positive feedback from patients!
- Clare Rayner, LOCOMOTION Patient Advisory Group Chair, contributed to the WHO guidance Clinical management of COVID-19: Living Guideline.
- The LOCOMOTION Chief Investigator published a paper detailing a home-based test for autonomic dysfunction.