Can the SurgInfoBot Improve the Consent Process for Endoscopy? A Randomised Controlled Trial
Gastro-Intestinal Disorder
About this trial
This is an interventional supportive care trial for Gastro-Intestinal Disorder focused on measuring Consent, Chatbot, Endoscopy, Automated conversational agent, Patient education
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- All patients undergoing elective diagnostic or screening colonoscopy or Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) are eligible for inclusion, provided they are aged 18 or over and have capacity to consent to participate in this trial.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients undergoing sigmoidoscopy procedures will not be included, as the SurgInfoBot does not contain specific information regarding sigmoidoscopy. Patients undergoing planned procedures beyond those required for diagnostics (such as biopsy, campylobacter-like organism testing or polyp retrieval) are not eligible for inclusion; this includes patients undergoing endoscopic stenting, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), planned endoscopic laser ablation, or other interventional procedures. Patients undergoing emergency or inpatient endoscopy are not eligible for inclusion. This trial does not exclude patients who dio not speak English as their first language, though patients requiring an interpreter are not eligible for inclusion.
Sites / Locations
- Tallaght University HospitalRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
No Intervention
Experimental
Standard Consent
Standard consent + access to an automated conversational agent (SurgInfoBot)
Standard consent procedure: The rationale, risks, benefits, and alternatives for the intended procedure (diagnostic or screening OGD or colonoscopy) will be discussed in the outpatient clinic by a consultant general surgeon (DOK) or members of the surgical team. Patients will be given the opportunity to ask questions. All patients will receive a written information leaflet, which includes contact details for the endoscopy department should patients wish to ask further questions (supplemental data). Those undergoing colonoscopy will receive further instructions along with prescribed colonoscopy 'prep' medication by post. On the day of the procedure, patients are required to sign a standardised consent form.
Patients in the SurgInfoBot arm will be consented as above, but will also be granted access to the SurgInfoBot, which they will be invited to use between their outpatient appointment and their endoscopy procedure date. Participants will be provided with an access link and Unique Study Identifier in order to pseudonymise participant data. Participants will be able to access the SurgInfoBot as many times as they wish, and can ask any questions they see fit.