Area of expertise: Digital Health (Data analysis)
The future of technology-enabled care (independent living technology) is rapidly changing and the university has a long-standing relationship with Scottish Government in creating data analytic methods and approaches that will enable better prediction of things like falls and likelihood of hospitalisation after a fall. We're also now looking at how to reduce social isolation for older adults.
Marilyn Lennon and Kim Kavanagh are working with the Scottish Government to create a census of Technology-Enabled Care Users across Scotland.
Our work also involves creating tools for predicting and managing the risk of medicines, particularly antibiotics. The CDI Risk Predictor, is a digital tool that aims to support clinicians during antibiotic prescribing. Upon the input of patient data, the CDI Risk Predictor can predict the risk of contracting Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection within 12 months.
The tool was created by interviewing primary and secondary care clinicians, which allowed researchers to understand their preferences on the tool's format, and the barriers and facilitators for the implementation.
The university provide a range of expertise in the use of technology such as smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and wearables to diagnose and to promote and monitor symptoms and lifestyle factors such as sleep or physical activity. These studies are being explored in several different populations at Strathclyde including in young children across Scotland and Sweden, in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and in older adults.