None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Management of self-care during the postdischarge period for general surgical patients is often challenging due to pain, fatigue and the presence of a surgical wound. Discharge education has been viewed as a critical part of meeting the patient’s continuing care needs and is crucial to enable patients to recognise when professional intervention is required. This transition period exposes patients to unnecessary risks related to inadequate preparation before leaving the hospital, potentially leading to postoperative complications and patient harm. With shorter hospitalisations, limited time and patients in a haste to leave the hospital, critical information may be poorly understood by patients or inadequately imparted by the health professionals facilitating the discharge process. Advances in web-based technology have introduced approaches that support effective and affordable healthcare delivery and patient education. The PREVENT discharge education package was designed to guide patients in recognising and understanding the signs and symptoms that patients may face at home after general surgery Discharge instructions for patients can be simplified to warning signs in understandable language as patients can be taught how to recognise and identify the warning signs, and how to contact the healthcare system using a standardised language.
Interventions
The intervention to be implemented is an adjunct to the standard care as participants randomised to the intervention group will be able to review the web content while in hospital and after hospital discharge. Participants randomomised to the intervention group will be asked to access the content of the intervention via a fixed URL address on their home computer, smartphones or tablets after hospital discharge. Reminders will be sent to patients every 3 days for 2 weeks via SMS and email with th
The intervention to be implemented is an adjunct to the standard care as participants randomised to the intervention group will be able to review the web content while in hospital and after hospital discharge. Participants randomomised to the intervention group will be asked to access the content of the intervention via a fixed URL address on their home computer, smartphones or tablets after hospital discharge. Reminders will be sent to patients every 3 days for 2 weeks via SMS and email with the web link to remind them to access the web-based education. The intervention will take approximately 10 minutes for participants to complete. The PREVENT intervention is developed using responsive web design. Participants in the intervention group will be able to access it using a full range of devices and screen sizes (i.e. smartphones, desktop and laptops, and tablet devices. PREVENT Content The intervention has three main components: 1) post general surgery warning signs; 2) post general surgery everyday care; and 3) signs of wound complications using dynamic explanatory 3D video. The intervention was developed based on existing literature and CDC guidelines for wound care as well as from findings from interviews with patients and clinical staff (both nurses and doctors). In the area post general surgery warning signs, there are 3 statuses- Green, Yellow and Red, with descriptions of warning signs and a timely set of actions required by the patients. The statuses are categorised in a coloured coded framework to help patients and carers make sense of the meaning of the different statuses. Discharge instructions to patients are distilled down to succinct warning signs using simple language and patients will be coached on how to recognise the warning signs and contact the healthcare system, using standardised language when communicating warning signs to healthcare providers. In the area post general surgery everyday care, self-management information is provided to remind patients of the activities to undertake after going home. Patients are encouraged to be more proactive and to explore the next step in their care by attending the follow-up appointments. In the signs and symptoms of wound infection video, patients will be guided through a 4 minute animated, interactive learning process about signs and symptoms of potential surgical wound complications and recognising when to seek professional help.
Sponsors
Griffith University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
i. Age 18 years or older and had general surgery procedure ii. Ability to access the intervention independently using the web link provided on their home computer or their smartphone or tablet device iii. Contactable by telephone iv. Able to provide written informed consent
Exclusion criteria
i. Ambulatory or day surgery procedures ii. Colorectal surgery procedures iii. Patients discharged as hospital in the home patients or discharged to residential care as the planned discharge destination
Outcome results
None listed