The DISC Study
The DISC Study is looking at inequalities in the use of digital health interventions, such as websites and phone apps, for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The DISC Study
The DISC (Digital Inequalities in South Asians with Cardiometabolic disease) Study, which will run until summer 2023, will look at inequalities in the use of digital health interventions for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The study focuses on people from a South Asian background, as this group has a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and some South Asian communities are more likely to experience health inequalities. It is important that interventions aimed at treatment or prevention of these illnesses will meet their needs.
As part of the project, we will speak to people of South Asian backgrounds, healthcare professionals, and other experts in the health system, about how and why people from South Asian backgrounds use health technology for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and how this might differ from the rest of the UK population. If there are any differences, we will try to understand what can be done to help make digital health interventions more appealing to people from all different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We will also try to understand the experiences of South Asians using digital health interventions to manage their health during the pandemic, and any technology used in relation to coronavirus.
Our Team
This study is being led by Professor Amitava Banerjee from the Institute of Health Informatics, UCL, and is being carried out with collaborators from across the UK.
- Professor Elizabeth Murray - UCL
- Professor Fiona Stevenson - UCL
- Professor Henry Potts - UCL
- Professor Ann Blandford - UCL
- Professor Kamlesh Khunti - University of Leicester
- Professor Paramjit Gill - University of Warwick
- Professor Wasim Hanif - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
- Dr Neeraj Bhala - Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
- Professor Kiran Patel - University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
- Professor Mahendra Patel - University of Sheffield
- Mr Ayath Ullah - PPI Representative
- Mrs Shivali Modha - PPI Representative
- Professor Partha Kar - Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
- Mr Manoj Mistry – PPI Representative
- Ms Madiha Sajid – PPI Representative