60 million people in Europe have diabetes (DM) and up to 34% (20.4 million) of them are at risk of developing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) in their lifetime (WHO; Armstrong et al. 2017). However, current primary and community care is suboptimal with 40% of DFUs recurring within a year. Path Active (PA) is a digital health tool composed of smart insoles and a Bluetooth-connected app, which remotely monitors users’ DFU risk, reducing their reliance on institutionalised care.
This project will use interdisciplinary approaches to assess PA’s ability to strengthen primary and community care systems (Subtopic 1) in culturally and socioeconomically diverse settings. We will take an ecosystem approach, incorporating multiple stakeholders including end-user patients, healthcare professionals, policy makers and potential commercial partners, investigating PA through economic, social, and clinical lenses. The project will pilot PA in ~100 individuals across 3 different countries (Canada, Denmark, and Spain) over 18 months. This will allow us to carry out:
Implementation research: Mapping PA implementation in diverse care settings, identifying local barriers to PA’s adoption and necessary changes to promote PA integration into community care.
Service and ICT research: End user-testing to facilitate iterative design improvements, ensuring PA is culturally appropriate.
Health economics and policy research: Investigate international policy impact on the health economics surrounding PA and inform PA’s market plan for different health systems.
Pilots: Gather evidence on PA’s effectiveness in preventing DFUs and investigate/tackle any potential efficacy differences between cultures.
Business development: Scale up PA production and map potential stakeholders in member sites.
Overall, STRIDE-COM represents a significant step toward integrating innovative digital health solutions into primary care across Europe/Canada, establishing a replicable model for wearable technologies.
