Is an Online-tool Capable of Improving Patients' Outcomes After Surgery?

Philipps University

Status: Terminated

Conditions: Patients Undergoing Surgery

Treatments: Behavioral: EXPECT: Preoperative optimization of patient's expectations

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04669379

Online-Tool Erwartungen prä-OP

Details and patient eligibility

About

Recovery after the surgery depends on psychological factors such as preoperative information, expectations, and surgery-associated anxiety. Prior studies have shown that even short preoperative psychological interventions can improve postoperative outcomes. However, the content of these interventions needs further examination. This study aims to examine if the developed preoperative intervention (i) reduces preoperative anxiety, (ii) increases positive expectations, and (iii) improves the long-term outcome and postoperative recovery. Therefore an online-tool has been developed. Using an online-approach makes it possible to reach many patients taking as little time and cost as possible.

Patients who undergo surgery in the next two weeks and want to participate in the study will be asked for the planned surgical procedure. There will be a filter (stratum) for surgery. Patients with the same kind of surgery are randomized into two groups (Control vs. intervention group) after they've filled some questionnaires at the baseline assessment. Following this, the intervention group will participate in the psychological online intervention (around 30 minutes). The intervention will focus on the treatment outcome expectations and personal control expectations to increase patients' positive expectations. The control group will receive no psychological intervention. Both groups will fill out questionnaires again in the evening, two days before the surgery, around one week after the surgery, and three months after the surgery.

Enrollment: 29 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• In-patient operation under general anesthetic
• Age 18 or above
• Fluency in German
• Informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Participation in other research programs: in agreement with Coordinating Investigator patient can participate substudies, if this do not interfere with the main study
• Emergency surgery

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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29 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention group (IG/EXPECT)

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: EXPECT: Preoperative optimization of patient's expectations

Standard of Care (SOC)

No Intervention group