Evaluating the feasibility of a web-based discharge education programme to improve general surgical patients' postdischarge recovery: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

To assess the feasibility of implementing a web-based discharge education programme for general surgery patients both prior to and after hospital discharge. This is a prospective, two-arm, pilot randomised controlled trial. Patients who had a general surgery procedure were recruited from a tertiary hospital between October 2020 and January 2021. Patients were randomly assigned to either the standard education or the web-based education intervention. The web-based education comprised of three components designed to enhance patients' knowledge, skills and confidence to improve their engagement with self-care, and the ability to detect any postoperative issues that can arise during the postdischarge period. The primary outcome was feasibility in terms of recruitment, randomisation, retention and treatment fidelity related to intervention delivery, adherence and satisfaction. Secondary outcomes were patient activation, self-care ability and unplanned healthcare utilisation. Eighty-five patients were recruited and randomised (42 control; 43 intervention). Twenty-three (27%) were lost to follow-up. All patients received their group allocation as randomised and all patients in the intervention group received the web-based education prior to discharge. Postdischarge, patients accessed the education an average of 3 times (SD 3.14), with 4 minutes (SD 16) spent on the website. 28 (97%) of the intervention patients found the content easy to understand, 25 (86%) found it useful and 24 (83%) were satisfied with its content. There was a significant association between the intervention and patient activation (<i>F(</i>1,60)=9.347, p=0.003), but not for self-care ability and unplanned healthcare utilisations. This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a web-based education programme. There was a high number of participants lost to follow-up, requiring additional attention in the design and implementation of a larger trial. ACTRN12620000389909p.