Improving NHS staff email management with AirEmail

Single Cohort Pilot Study With NHS Staff to Investigate the Impact on Their Ability to Manage Work Email, Improve Email Productivity, and Digital Wellbeing Before and After Use of the AirEmail v1 Digital Tool in Outlook

This study is testing a new email tool called AirEmail to see if it can help NHS staff manage their emails better and reduce stress while working.

Quick facts

• Phase: NA
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 172 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: AirEmail Holdings Limited (industry)
• Locations: 1 site (London)
• Trial ID: NCT06111001 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a digital email management tool called AirEmail on NHS staff's email productivity and digital wellbeing. Participants will use AirEmail for four weeks, preceded and followed by two weeks of observational data collection. The study aims to assess the impact of technostress on healthcare communication and determine if AirEmail can alleviate this stress and enhance productivity. Data will be compared between participants using AirEmail and a contemporary observational group.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates are NHS staff members who regularly use Microsoft Outlook for email management and have been employed at the same NHS trust for at least three months.

Not a fit: Patients who do not use Microsoft Outlook or are not employed by the NHS will not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this intervention could significantly enhance the email management experience and overall wellbeing of NHS staff.

How similar studies have performed: While there is limited data on similar digital tools specifically for NHS staff, the concept of using digital interventions to improve workplace productivity has shown promise in other settings.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. NHS staff employed at a participating NHS organisation with an active NHS IT account, Microsoft 365 access, and routinely using the Microsoft Outlook app on a computer for email management.
2. Age ≥ 18 years.
3. Able to communicate fluently in English.
4. Have been employed in the same NHS trust for at least 3 months prior to study participation and likely remain employed in the same NHS trust for another at least 3 months.
5. Contracted to work for ≥0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE).
6. Willing to complete study assessments and agree to non-identifiable email usage data being collected for the duration of the study.
7. Currently has (or agrees to create prior to joining the study) ≥500 megabytes of available storage in their NHSmail inbox (the usual total storage capacity of which is 4 gigabytes), and agrees not to exceed their NHSmail storage quota for the duration of the trial to ensure NHSmail performance is not adversely affected by the AirEmail Digital Tool processing and the study data collection.
8. Willing and able to engage IT support to seek resolution of email related issues as required.
9. Meets at least one of the following criteria: a) Receives ≥50 emails a day, or b) sends ≥20 emails a day, or c) spends ≥2 hours in email management on a busy day, in/from their individual inbox, or d) feels dissatisfied with their ability to manage email to an acceptable standard.
10. Willing and able to complete study training activities - estimated to require approximately 45 minutes over a period of maximum 2 weeks - and to configure their email and use the AirEmail v1 features as part of their NHS employment for the duration of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Currently absent from work for a period lasting, or likely to last, ≥4 weeks, or have returned from long-term absence/leave of ≥4 weeks in ≤4 weeks before joining the study.
2. Plans to take ≥8 working days of Annual Leave coinciding with study participation.
3. Currently participating in another interventional study in the field of digital wellbeing or digital communications.
4. Receives high-volume, high-risk patient-related communication. Note: This would apply for staff employed in clinical pathway coordinator roles, or similar, where even an hour of downtime would compromise patient care.
5. Has any specific accessibility requirements not catered for by the AirEmail v1 application (for example colour blindness which makes seeing highlighted words in Outlook a problem).
6. Relies on using Microsoft Outlook's "categories" feature to manage administrative or clinical workflows.

Where this trial is running

London

• Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust — London, United Kingdom (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Jay Mehta, Dr — AirEmail Holdings Limited, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
• Study coordinator: Liba Stones, MA, MBA

Conditions: Communication Research, Technostress, Work Related Stress, Burnout, Professional, Well-Being, Psychological, Technology Related Stress, Healthcare communication, Email communication