Clinical trial NCT03884218: Thermal Imaging in Old and Frail in the Community
Official title: A Study to Assess Thermal Comfort of Frail Older People in a Care Home Setting.
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Old Age; Debility
Keywords: Thermal Comfort
Lead sponsor: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Sheffield Hallam University
First posted: 2019-03-21
Enrollment: 39
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 60
Maximum age (years): 105
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: This study aims to test whether infrared thermal imaging using a non-touch, non-ionising, thermal camera system is feasible and reliable as an independent technique for thermal comfort assessment in older people and frail older people living in a care home and with or without mild cognitive impairment.

Detailed description: Thermal comfort (TC) is a complex interaction involving physiological, social, cultural and clothing factors. In hospital and in care homes, health-issues (frailty, dementia, immobility) can affect a person's perception of TC.

In the UK 18,000 care homes provide living-communities for approximately 400,000 people. Many are old/frail and vulnerable to indoor chilling. A quality indicator for a good ''home'' environment is related to TC. However, in multiplyoccupied rooms TC varies between individuals. The challenge in health-assessment is in identifying ''uncomfortable'' residents (too hot/too cold). As TC is a subjective perception; a carer cannot reliably predict TC in another person.

The objectives are to use infra-red thermal imaging (IRTI) to 'see' the body temperature map, to demonstrate prevalence of TC/thermal discomfort, to demonstrate whether there is correspondence/dissociation between TC self-report and IRTI-measured body/extremity (hand) temperature.

The study aims to establish if TC can be predicted by an independent non-invasive imaging device

Expected achievements are a two-way pathway to health impact:

1. identification of eligible adults via NHS intermediary care- and awaiting care home residency
2. expert guidance and collaboration with NHS partners
3. translation of results from community to NHS setting e.g. stoke/aged care medicine for improved thermal care on the hospital wards Longer-term the expected achievement (5-7 years)-working with NHS colleagues and design/product development teams is expected to lead towards a commercialisation pathway.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Care home residents who are:

* Aged over 60 to a maximum age of 105 years
* Able to sit comfortably for up to 20 minutes without marked agitation.
* Ability to understand, read and speak English.

Exclusion Criteria:

Care home residents who are/have:

* Severe dementia
* Unable to hold a conversation
* Who do not wish to take part in the study
* Unable to speak or understand English
* Unable to sit with other residents
* Who are severely agitated or unsettled

Primary outcomes:
measure: Thermometer
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Thermal Imaging comparison
timeFrame: Baseline
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Sheffield
country: United Kingdom
facility: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Study officials:
affiliation: Sheffield Hallam University
name: Charmaine Childs
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: