{
  "abstract": "Introduction Obesity affects over a quarter of the UK population and can lead to serious health issues. NHS Specialist Weight Management Services (WMS) offer treatments including lifestyle advice, psychological support and medications, but access and availability vary by region. Although around 4 million people could be eligible for NHS Specialist WMS annually, capacity is limited to 35 000, severely limiting overall access for those who need it. While digital technology has started to be used in WMS, more evidence is needed to confirm its long-term effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness. This study explores the use of Gro Health W8Buddy, a digital platform and app providing remote Specialist WMS. It aims to determine the long-term health benefits of remote WMS pathway Gro Health W8Buddy compared with standard NHS WMS delivered in hospitals, and to improve patients access to services.Methods and analysis The study is a real-world evaluation with observational data collection. We will recruit 450 study participants from four NHS specialist WMS who will choose either standard NHS WMS or the digital pathway Gro Health W8Buddy. Participants are being given the option to choose their pathway to generate real-world evidence. We will measure and analyse health outcomes including weight loss, time taken to be treated and cost-effectiveness, at 18 months and follow up at 24 months for later analysis (outside of this core funding). We will gather experiential data from patients and healthcare professionals through surveys, observation and interviews.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from NHS Health Research Authority (HRA) and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW) (Supplementary Figure 3) (REC reference: 25/EM/0147). Our findings will be disseminated through academic publications, conference presentations and stakeholder engagement.Trial registration ISRCTN89168871; Pre-results.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Pranay Singh Deo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Amy Grove"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Mengxi Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Statistics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK",
        "Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Keith R Abrams"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Social Policy and Society, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Peter Auguste"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK",
        "University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Thomas M Barber"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Tracy Gazeley"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Richard Green"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Frances Griffiths"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK",
        "Birmingham Health Partners, Birmingham, UK",
        "Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Jonathan Hazlehurst"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK",
        "Research and Development, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Siew Wan Hee"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Faculty of medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Amit Kaura"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Hywel Dda Health Board, Carmarthen, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Akhila Mallipedhi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Sarah O’Toole"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "DDM Health, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Arjun Panesar"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Nicholas Parsons"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Emma Scott"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "DDM Health, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Charlotte Summers"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Manreet Thind"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Marie Thorpe"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Luton, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Anjali Zalin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK",
        "University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK",
        "South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Warwick, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Petra Hanson"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Using real-world evidence to evaluate the long-term health and economic impact of the digital tool Grohealth W8Buddy supporting access to specialist weight management services: a protocol for a cohort observational study",
  "uid": "80547808-92b4-540b-b082-dcb13fc95c73"
}