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

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of implementing a web-based discharge education programme for general surgery patients both prior to and after hospital discharge. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 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. 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. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: 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. RESULTS: 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 (F(1,60)=9.347, p=0.003), but not for self-care ability and unplanned healthcare utilisations. CONCLUSION: 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. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12620000389909p.