Impact of an mHealth self-help intervention on readmission rates after adult cardiac surgery: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

GoShare (the intervention) is a customised care bundle that promotes self-efficacy and self-management behaviours to empower patients to have a more active role in their healthcare. The care bundle contains a patient narrative library with a series of videos describing patient and carer experiences, in addition to links to reputable on-line resources. The content in the Cardiac Surgery bundle is customised to support adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery that requires a surgical incision on the thorax; either median sternotomy or minimally invasive access via thoracotomy. This bundle provides resources specific to receiving a diagnosis that requires cardiac surgical intervention (5 minutes, 48 seconds), preparing for heart surgery (4 minutes 47 seconds), recovery after heart surgery (5 minutes) and rehabilitation after heart surgery (2 minutes, 37 seconds). The videos are delivered by a mixture of male and female patients representing young to older adults. The patients in the videos do not discuss specifics of surgery or medical management, the focus is on strategies for self-help and self-efficacy in managing the cardiac surgical experience. The information sheets in the bundle link to the Australian Centre for Heart Health, the National Heart Foundation (NHF) and the NHF 'My Heart, My Life' application. The care bundle will be accessible to participants indefinitely. Adult patients randomised to the intervention will receive a text-message or email link to the online platform prior to undergoing cardiac surgery with a single reminder within 48 hours of discharge from hospital. Usage metrics will be extracted from the GoShare interface to confirm access reminders, assess access frequency, assess access duration and review content items viewed at the time of access. Follow-up phone calls from an expert cardiothoracic nurse will occur at 30, 60 and 90-days after the day of surgery. Each phone call will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes. During the phone call a series of questions will be asked to confirm consent to participate, to confirm whether representation or readmission to hospital has been required, to assess quality of life (EQ5D-5L) and to assess patient activation (PAM).