Abstract
Aim and objective: To explore patient experiences, perceived benefits and suggestions of an eHealth program for pre- and post-operative education for total hip arthroplasty.
Background: eHealth programs for surgical patients can facilitate the delivery of information, provide individualised rehabilitation plans and enable communication with health professionals to promote overall patient recovery.
Design: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted following the COREQ guidelines. A convenience sample of nine patients who had total hip arthroplasty and used the My Hip Journey eHealth program were recruited and participated in individual semi-structured telephone interviews. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results: The participant group were aged between 53 and 70 years. The results are described in three overarching themes and sub-themes: (1) Supported surgical journey—how the My Hip Journey eHealth program supported them in their preparation and recovery from their surgery, and how the program provided information and encouraged engagement; (2) Motivated recovery—how patients found the program motivational, facilitated their self-management and enabled communication with the healthcare team if they had any concern; and (3) Functionality—how the program related to ease of use, its interactivity with the patient and suggestions for future use.
Conclusions: The patients reported that using the eHealth program for pre- and post-operative education was helpful to their overall surgical experience and recovery. It was found to engage patients in their care, enabled self-management, encouraged communication with health professionals and motivated them with their recovery. These findings identify the potential for eHealth programs to support patients in the preparation and post-operative stages, and in their post-discharge self-care for other surgical and orthopaedic journeys.
Relevance to clinical practice: Patient experiences of eHealth education can inform nurses of the benefits of eHealth and the development of future eHealth education programs.
Background: eHealth programs for surgical patients can facilitate the delivery of information, provide individualised rehabilitation plans and enable communication with health professionals to promote overall patient recovery.
Design: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted following the COREQ guidelines. A convenience sample of nine patients who had total hip arthroplasty and used the My Hip Journey eHealth program were recruited and participated in individual semi-structured telephone interviews. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results: The participant group were aged between 53 and 70 years. The results are described in three overarching themes and sub-themes: (1) Supported surgical journey—how the My Hip Journey eHealth program supported them in their preparation and recovery from their surgery, and how the program provided information and encouraged engagement; (2) Motivated recovery—how patients found the program motivational, facilitated their self-management and enabled communication with the healthcare team if they had any concern; and (3) Functionality—how the program related to ease of use, its interactivity with the patient and suggestions for future use.
Conclusions: The patients reported that using the eHealth program for pre- and post-operative education was helpful to their overall surgical experience and recovery. It was found to engage patients in their care, enabled self-management, encouraged communication with health professionals and motivated them with their recovery. These findings identify the potential for eHealth programs to support patients in the preparation and post-operative stages, and in their post-discharge self-care for other surgical and orthopaedic journeys.
Relevance to clinical practice: Patient experiences of eHealth education can inform nurses of the benefits of eHealth and the development of future eHealth education programs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1580-1587 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Clinical Nursing |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 11-12 |
| Early online date | 24 Aug 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- hip
- mobile applications
- nursing
- qualitative research
- rehabilitation
- telemedicine