Involving people in telehealth research during the COVID-19 pandemic - Cambridge Festival 2021

In this Cambridge Festival event held on 30 March 2021 MRC Epidemiology Unit scientists Dr Kirsten Rennie and Dr Rebecca Richards discuss with Professor Nick Wareham how telehealth approaches are transforming how we are conducting population health research.

Taking as examples the Fenland Covid-19 and SWiM-C studies, they explore how advances in online platforms, devices and smartphone technology enabled researchers to continue research and engage with study participants whilst maintaining COVID-19 physical distancing rules.

Innovations in telehealth such as these have promise for a range of clinical healthcare and research settings, reducing the need for people to visit clinics and maintaining better online contact. However, it is important that it is acceptable to participants and the technology does not exclude sectors of the population. The discussion examines some of the challenges of these innovations posed for both researchers and participants, and how our research teams are addressing them.