A Mobile Application for Child-focused Perioperative Education

NCT ID: NCT06054282

Last Updated: 2024-02-22

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

360 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-02-19

Study Completion Date

2024-06-30

Brief Summary

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The investigators developed a child-friendly mobile application to support accessible, interactive patient/caregiver education about pediatric tonsillectomy. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate whether the intervention reduces preoperative anxiety, improves patients' confidence and positive coping, improves caregivers' satisfaction and self-efficacy, and reduces call volumes from caregivers to the clinic after surgery compared to current standard care.

Detailed Description

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This is a prospective, questionnaire-based randomized controlled trial to evaluate a child-focused patient education intervention. The investigators developed a child-friendly mobile application to support accessible, interactive patient/caregiver education about pediatric tonsillectomy. Families in the intervention group will be invited to use the "Ready for Tonsillectomy" mobile application on their own mobile devices as they prepare for surgery and during recovery. The trial will compare preoperative anxiety and other patient-centered outcomes between families who use the mobile application (intervention) and families who receive current standard care materials without additional education (control). Primary and secondary endpoints include:

* Patients' preoperative anxiety (primary endpoint)
* Patient-reported confidence in knowing what to expect
* Patient-reported attitudes toward the procedure
* Patient-reported coping strategies
* Postoperative pain in the post-anesthesia care unit
* Caregivers' preoperative anxiety
* Caregivers' satisfaction with educational materials
* Caregivers' self-efficacy in managing their child's postoperative pain.
* Caregiver-initiated phone call volumes to the clinic within 2 weeks after surgery
* Mobile application use/interactions based on integrated user analytics

The target sample size is based on a power analysis using the primary outcome measure, which is validated for ages 7-13 years; the investigators will recruit a total of approximately 180 patients ages 7-13 years along with their caregivers (i.e., 180 caregivers for this cohort). A secondary cohort of patients ages 5-6 years will be enrolled simultaneously until the investigators reach the target sample size for the primary cohort (maximum 180 additional patients in the younger cohort, plus their caregivers). Participants will give informed verbal consent/assent at least 2 weeks before surgery. At this time, the family will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or control arm. Families in the intervention arm will download the mobile application on their smartphone or tablet; they will be able to access the application as frequently as desired in the weeks leading up to surgery and afterward. All participants will complete questionnaires while waiting in their private preoperative rooms on the day of surgery.

Conditions

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Preoperative Anxiety

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

NONE

The investigator enrolling patients will be blinded to group assignments when recruiting patients (until families have consented to participate).

Study Groups

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Intervention

Patients and caregivers will use the "Ready for Tonsillectomy" mobile application on their mobile devices as they prepare for and recover from surgery, in addition to standard care. Individual families will receive a phone call for enrollment/verbal informed consent at least 2 weeks before the scheduled surgery, likely around the time of the clinic visit when surgery is scheduled. Participants assigned to the intervention arm will download the mobile application at this time. They will be able to access the application as often as desired in the weeks leading up to surgery and afterward.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

"Ready for Tonsillectomy" educational mobile application

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The "Ready for Tonsillectomy" mobile application provides child-focused, procedure-specific education developed with feedback from patients, caregivers, and pediatric otolaryngologists. The application guides patients and their families through each aspect of the surgical experience, including reasons for tonsillectomy, how to prepare for surgery, anesthesia, and postoperative recovery. Diverse characters focus on the child's perspective in the treatment process, showing what happens at each step. Written at an early elementary reading level (available in English or Spanish), the text is integrated with graphics and animations. The application aims to promote active learning and equip patients with positive expectations and coping strategies as they approach surgery. It also prepares caregivers to navigate their child's surgery and optimize recovery. Notifications provide key information and reminders for caregivers to promote adherence and address common questions.

Control

Families will receive standard care (standard educational handouts and preoperative consults).

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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"Ready for Tonsillectomy" educational mobile application

The "Ready for Tonsillectomy" mobile application provides child-focused, procedure-specific education developed with feedback from patients, caregivers, and pediatric otolaryngologists. The application guides patients and their families through each aspect of the surgical experience, including reasons for tonsillectomy, how to prepare for surgery, anesthesia, and postoperative recovery. Diverse characters focus on the child's perspective in the treatment process, showing what happens at each step. Written at an early elementary reading level (available in English or Spanish), the text is integrated with graphics and animations. The application aims to promote active learning and equip patients with positive expectations and coping strategies as they approach surgery. It also prepares caregivers to navigate their child's surgery and optimize recovery. Notifications provide key information and reminders for caregivers to promote adherence and address common questions.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Pediatric patients ages 5-13 years (inclusive) scheduled for a tonsillectomy, along with their caregivers.

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients/caregivers who do not speak English and/or Spanish, do not have a mobile device, or are unable to give consent and assent.
Minimum Eligible Age

5 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

13 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance AppHatchery

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Kara K Prickett, MD, FACS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta; Emory University School of Medicine

Locations

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Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Hari Vendantam

Role: CONTACT

404-785-0141

Kara K Prickett, MD, FACS

Role: CONTACT

Facility Contacts

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Kara K Prickett, MD, FACS

Role: primary

References

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Cordray H, Patel C, Prickett KK. Reducing Children's Preoperative Fear with an Educational Pop-up Book: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Aug;167(2):366-374. doi: 10.1177/01945998211053197. Epub 2021 Oct 26.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34699270 (View on PubMed)

Chow CH, Van Lieshout RJ, Buckley N, Schmidt LA. Children's Perioperative Multidimensional Anxiety Scale (CPMAS): Development and validation. Psychol Assess. 2016 Sep;28(9):1101-9. doi: 10.1037/pas0000318.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27537004 (View on PubMed)

McMurtry CM, Noel M, Chambers CT, McGrath PJ. Children's fear during procedural pain: preliminary investigation of the Children's Fear Scale. Health Psychol. 2011 Nov;30(6):780-8. doi: 10.1037/a0024817. Epub 2011 Aug 1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21806301 (View on PubMed)

Merkel SI, Voepel-Lewis T, Shayevitz JR, Malviya S. The FLACC: a behavioral scale for scoring postoperative pain in young children. Pediatr Nurs. 1997 May-Jun;23(3):293-7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9220806 (View on PubMed)

Marteau TM, Bekker H. The development of a six-item short-form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Br J Clin Psychol. 1992 Sep;31(3):301-6. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1992.tb00997.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 1393159 (View on PubMed)

Cordray H, Wright EA, Patel C, Raol N, Prickett KK. A Mobile Application for Child-Focused Tonsillectomy Education: Development and User-Testing. Laryngoscope. 2024 May;134(5):2455-2463. doi: 10.1002/lary.31198. Epub 2023 Nov 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 37983833 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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STUDY00001807

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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