Access to the internet and digital technology has become a growing part of everyday life, changing how we communicate, learn, relax and work. We have become so used to living our lives on smart devices, that it can feel difficult to imagine a time without them or forget that others in our communities don’t have this access. Yet, digital exclusion remains a key issue in the UK, impacting older adults, disabled persons and low-income individuals the most. Digital exclusion can lead to increased feelings of loneliness and social isolation, paying more for goods, less access to services and feelings of having “no voice” in a digital world. Since COVID-19 the digital divide has become much more obvious and there has been a nationwide push to reduce this. However, the solution to digital inclusion isn’t just about having access to this technology, it is also about helping people to understand how to use and feel confident in using them in their day-to-day life.
As a site, we know that Glasgow is disproportionally impacted by digital exclusion, experiencing some of the highest levels of exclusion in the UK, making CONNECT a very exciting study to bring to the city. As we continue to recruit participants in Glasgow, we wanted to share the positive impact we are seeing in our city from the perspective of our participants.
With CONNECT, not only are we growing vital research in psychosis, but we are also able to give people access to digital technology which they are able to keep at the end of their participation. As part of the project, we have one appointment where we support participants to set up the devices, download the study app onto the phone and familiarise themselves with the equipment. We are then able to spend dedicated “tech” time each week by phoning participants, where we hope to help grow confidence in using this technology by working through difficulties and answering any questions.
Prior to CONNECT, Alex* never had an email address, used a smartphone or smartwatch – something we are seeing a lot in Glasgow. At our tech appointment, we wanted to make sure we were working in a way that was accessible to Alex and made sure to check they were understanding us and were able to ask questions. We began by setting up an email address, exploring what we can use an email account for, picking the name Alex wanted to use and password protecting this. We then set up a new Samsung phone, where we started by showing them how to use the touch screen, unlock the phone and use the built in apps. In this appointment, Alex sent their first ever text message and made their first mobile phone call! We then set up a smart watch, focusing on how to use this device, what the watch can be used for (thinking about step count, heart rate, sleep) and picking some fun new watch faces. Alex shared their own thoughts on how exciting it was to have these devices and how it felt to be able to interact with the digital world, discussing all the things they hoped to do, from using online banking to using social media and texting family. Alex also shared with us their worries about not being able to use the devices as others do and feeling overwhelmed about this. We spent time speaking through these worries, answering Alex’s initial questions and reassuring them that we were always a phone call away if they had any worries about the devices.
Following onboarding, we planned weekly phone calls where we had dedicated time to answer any questions and work through any difficulties. Before one call, we noticed that the data information from the devices was not “flowing” into the database. We contacted Alex, explained what we had noticed and if we could try to work through some steps to get this information to “flow” again. Alex expressed some worries about their ability to do this but stated they would like to try the steps to see if we could fix this without setting up another face-to-face appointment. We were successfully able to find the reason the data wasn’t flowing and resolve the issue, having a “mini celebration” on the phone at this achievement. We spent some time speaking about the skills Alex had already begun to develop, which was a huge moment for both Alex and the research team.
Throughout the weekly tech support phone calls, Alex has shared with us their growing confidence in using the equipment and the things they had learned. They also shared with us their joy at being able to communicate much easier with loved ones, and feeling they were more accessible by being able to send a quick text message. Alex also experienced their first ever “butt dial”, calling a member of the research team by mistake and having a chuckle with them about this. Anyone who has used a mobile phone knows all too well this familiar feeling!
As we move to monthly check in calls with Alex and continue to welcome more people to the study, we wanted to pause and reflect on all the things CONNECT is achieving. We live in a dynamic and changing world but it’s important to remember the whole picture of the communities we live in and how we can support everyone in them. Thanks to this Wellcome trust funded study, we hope we can CONNECT people a little bit more.
*Please note: names have been anonymised and pseudonyms used for this piece.