The Liver App Project

Project team

• Dr. Alex Toft (CFR)
• Charlotte Clowes (CFR)
• Dr. Rachel Taylor (Children and Young People’s Healthcare)
• Professor David Adams (Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham)
• Dr. James Ferguson (University Hospital Birmingham)
• Dr. Rebecca Jones (Leeds Teaching Hospital)
• Dr. Lee Claridge (Leeds Teaching Hospital)
• Dr. Patricia McClean (Leeds Teaching Hospital)
• Dr. Jonathon Hind (Kings College Hospital)
• Dr. Marianne Samyn (Kings College Hospital)

Project objectives

Over 80% of young people under 24 years access the internet on a daily basis. Yet, for chronic conditions such as liver disease, mobile applications (apps) are varied in conceptualisation, never developed by young people for young people, and frequently not evidence-based. Therefore, this project has produced an accessible, free mobile app, which has been developed on sound evidence and piloted by a strong team of medical and health professionals. It will directly benefit young people with liver disease in supporting transition decisions, which will help to empower them in making choices about the care and services they receive.

Research impact

Once the app is completed, the CFR team will collaborate with the CLDF team to disseminate the results through a number of mechanisms they have in place for sharing information with young people and families. The ‘pilot’ app will be launched at CLDF’s October 2014 National Conference, and the results of the study will be presented the following year. We will develop a young person report for young people to download from the website, and we would liaise with CLDF to present the findings at other regional events as appropriate.

We will publicise and discuss the work through the active PPI and PPE programme run by the Birmingham NIHR BRU in Liver Disease, in Leeds Teaching Hospitals, and in the adolescent unit at Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. To the wider scientific community we would submit abstracts to present at key conferences, e.g. British Society of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. The review and project results will be submitted for publication in a high impact open access journal. Wherever possible, young people who are part of the Young People’s Project Advisory Group will be involved in dissemination.