Children’s Use of and Experiences With a Web-Based Perioperative Preparation Program: Directed Content Analysis

BACKGROUND: Web-based technology is useful as an alternative means of providing preparation programs to children in pediatric care. To take full advantage of Web-based technology, there is a need to understand how children use and learn from such programs. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze children’s use of and experiences with a Web-based perioperative preparation program in relation to an educational framework of children’s learning. METHODS: This study is the final part of a three-phase study in which all families with children aged 3 to 16 years (N=32) admitted for outpatient surgery over 1 week were asked to participate. Children were interviewed before (phase 1) and after (phase 2) anesthesia and surgery and 1 month after hospitalization (phase 3). The data in this study (phase 3) relate to six children (5 to 13 years) who participated in the follow-up interviews in their homes a month after hospitalization. The study used a directed qualitative interpretative approach. The interviews were conducted in a semistructured manner as the children—without guidance or influence from the interviewer—visited and navigated the actual website. The data were analyzed based on a combination of the transcribed interviews and field notes, and were subjected to a previous theoretical investigation based on children’s learning on a website in pediatric care. RESULTS: Six children, five boys (5-12 years) and one girl (13 years), participated in the follow-up study in their homes a month after hospitalization. The children were selected from the 22 initially interviewed (in phases 1 and 2) to represent a variation of ages and perioperative experiences. The children’s use of and experiences with the website could be explained by the predetermined educational themes (in charge of my learning, discover and play, recognize and identify, and getting feedback), but additional aspects associated with children’s need for identification, recognition, and feedback were also revealed. The children used the website to get feedback on their own experiences and to interact with and learn from other children. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis of children’s use of and experiences with a Web-based preparation program emphasizes the importance of including a theoretical educational framework of children’s learning in the development and design of websites in pediatric care. Creating opportunities for Web-based communication with others facing similar experiences and possibilities for receiving feedback from adults are important factors for future consideration.