With increasingly more complex surgical patients and the trend toward decreased hospital stay after operations, continuity of care and prompt management of symptoms and side effects perioperatively are ever more crucial. The investigators' goal is to improve perioperative care with a patient-centred mobile application, starting with a pilot in patients undergoing elective Cesarean delivery. The investigators have completed a research study where they created a prototype based on feedback from patients and anesthesiologists. In this study, the investigators would like to learn about how patients use our mobile application after delivery and how the mobile application can be integrated into daily practice.
The objective of this cohort study is to build the mobile application and evaluate its feasibility in providing patient education and reminders for self-monitoring for cesarean delivery patients. The investigators will measure the extent of patient engagement with our application through in-app usage data, as well as receive quantitative and qualitative feedback regarding feasibility. By understanding user behavior and needs through questionnaires and application usage data, the investigators could design more effective and tailored interventions for patients. Results of this study will help further development and implementation of an interdisciplinary mobile monitoring and communication platform for perioperative care. This study is funded by the Dalhousie University Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management \& Perioperative Medicine.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
36
C-care is a mobile application developed based on previous research at the IWK Health Centre. It contains topics relevant to Cesarean delivery and the recovery process, which the patient could access at anytime. Patient engagement with the application will be monitored anonymously for 30 days after delivery. On days one to five after delivery, patients will receive a short self-monitoring questionnaire (approximately 1 minute). At the end of two weeks (14 days), patients will complete an online survey regarding overall satisfaction, potential impact on care, usability and feasibility problems. At any point during the study, patients can email us to report any problems with the application.
Women's and Obstetric Anesthesia, IWK Health Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
RECRUITINGMedian number of information topics viewed per participant
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Median number of self-monitoring questionnaires completed per participant
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Median number of total visits to the mobile application per participant
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Satisfaction score (scale of 0 to 10, 10 being extremely satisfied, 0 being not satisfied)
Quantitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
Percentage of participants who would recommend the C-Care App to other women undergoing Cesarean delivery
Quantitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
Percentage of self-monitoring questionnaires completed (out of 5) per participant
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Which topics were viewed the most (rank by topic name and by postoperative day)
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Which self-monitoring questionnaires were filled the most (rank by postoperative day number)
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Incidence of important potential anesthetic-related problems entered by the patient (pain, headache, weakness and numbness)
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Time of the day patient visited site (scatter plot of Nova Scotia time vs. # visits) - one visit = at least one interaction within app, e.g. opening a topic, navigating within app
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Time of the day patient filled out the questionnaire
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Number of visits vs. postoperative day
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
Median duration (number of days starting from delivery date until the last day of visit) patient interacted with application.
Quantitative mobile application usage data
Time frame: 30 days
% participant who responded "yes" to the question that C-Care App provided them with knowledge about Cesarean delivery and anesthesia
Quantitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
% participant who responded "yes" to the question that C-Care App provided them with knowledge about potential complications to monitor for
Quantitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
% participant who responded "yes" to the question that C-Care App provided them with knowledge about the recovery process after Cesarean delivery
Quantitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
Anything the patient wanted to change about this application, in terms of content, navigation, appearance, and overall experience?
Qualitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
If the patient did not use the mobile application, what were the reasons?
Qualitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
How could we make the mobile application more helpful for the patient?
Qualitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
What do patients think about the name of this App, "C-Care"? Do they have any other suggestions for our name/logo?
Qualitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
Any other comments and/or suggestions
Qualitative responses from survey
Time frame: 2 to 3 weeks
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