E-Health-Supported Preoperative Education

May 10, 2026 updated by: Sema Nur YAMAN ÇELİK, Dokuz Eylul University

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRE-OPERATIVE EDUCATION PROVIDED TO PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEST SURGERY VIA AN E-HEALTH APPLICATION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY

In the context of patient education, the integration of mobile applications-an e-health modality-among healthcare professionals and patients has garnered significant attention alongside technological advancements. Mobile applications offer distinct advantages, notably the vast global population capable of accessing and utilizing these digital tools. A study evaluating the impact of mobile applications on the recovery of patients undergoing ambulatory surgery demonstrated that the quality of recovery was superior in the intervention group. In research investigating mobile application-based education following breast cancer surgery, significant improvements were observed in pain levels, affected shoulder functions, and anxiety levels within the intervention group .

Among patients undergoing cardiac surgery, 98% of those who received education via a mobile application reported that the application was beneficial to their recovery process . Furthermore, in a study involving a mobile application for patients undergoing heart valve surgery, the intervention group exhibited significantly lower probabilities of hospitalization, emergency department visits, and complications . An integrative review of mobile applications in the health education of surgical patients noted that while research has involved bariatric, orthopedic, colorectal, mastectomy, urological, and neurological surgical patients, there is an emphasized need for further nursing research utilizing emerging communication technologies.

To date, no studies evaluating the effectiveness of preoperative education delivered via mobile application for patients undergoing thoracic surgery have been identified. Initiating preoperative preparation for patients scheduled for thoracic surgery is anticipated to positively influence postoperative recovery and quality of life, highlighting the necessity for research in this domain.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

128

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 18 years and older
  • Patients with full spatial and temporal orientation
  • Patients without significant hearing or vision impairments
  • Patients with the ability to read and write
  • Patients scheduled for elective thoracic surgery due to a lung mass
  • Patients who voluntarily agree to participate and provide written informed consent
  • Patients who own and can operate a smartphone

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients scheduled for emergency thoracic surgery
  • Patients with physical limitations that prevent mobilization or participation in study tests
  • Patients with cognitive impairments (as they may fail to provide accurate data via the app)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: E-health preoperative education
E-health education group
Other: E-health education
Preoperative education provided to patients via a mobile e-health application including video-based and written educational content developed based on current thoracic surgery guidelines.
No Intervention: Control
Standard care group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Health-Related Quality of Life (EQ-5D-5L)
Time Frame: 10 days before surgery and 10 days after surgery.
Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the Turkish version of the EQ-5D-5L scale. The scale consists of two parts: a descriptive system covering five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) and the EQ Visual Analogue Scale (EQ VAS). The descriptive system provides a health state profile across five levels for each dimension. The EQ VAS is a vertical 0-100 scale where 0 represents "the worst health you can imagine" and 100 represents "the best health you can imagine." Assessments will be conducted 10 days before surgery and 10 days after surgery. The study will utilize the official Turkish translation provided by the EuroQol Research Foundation.
10 days before surgery and 10 days after surgery.
Postoperative Physical Capacity (6-Minute Walk Test)
Time Frame: Day 3 post-operatively
Postoperative physical capacity will be evaluated using the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). This test measures the maximum distance (in meters) a patient can walk at a self-selected pace on a flat surface in 6 minutes. The mobilization levels and total walking time (in minutes) will also be recorded to compare the physical recovery and functional capacity between the intervention group (mobile app-based training) and the control group (standard training).
Day 3 post-operatively
Postoperative Pulmonary Complications
Time Frame: Day 3 post-operatively
Evaluation of respiratory complications based on clinical signs and laboratory findings. A complication is defined as meeting two or more criteria, including respiratory distress, abnormal breath sounds, and abnormal white blood cell counts (leukopenia or leukocytosis) according to standard clinical reference ranges.
Day 3 post-operatively
State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-I)
Time Frame: 10 days before surgery and Day 3 post-operatively
The State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-I) is a 20-item self-report scale that measures current anxiety. Scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores indicating higher anxiety levels. It uses a 4-point Likert-type scale for each item.
10 days before surgery and Day 3 post-operatively
Length of Hospital Stay
Time Frame: From the date of surgery until the date of hospital discharge
The length of hospital stay (measured in days) will be recorded and compared between the intervention and control groups. The duration will be calculated from the day of surgery until the day of discharge. Data will be obtained from the patients' medical records after discharge to evaluate whether mobile application-based training has an impact on the timing of clinical recovery and hospital resource utilization.
From the date of surgery until the date of hospital discharge

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Dokuz Eylul University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 18, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 22, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

September 22, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • E-14585038-21201-113088

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data (IPD) including demographic characteristics, outcome measures, and questionnaire responses collected during the study will be shared. All data will be anonymized and will not contain any personally identifiable information.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

IPD will be available upon reasonable request to the corresponding investigator following publication of the study results. Data will be shared for scientific research purposes only, after approval of a proposal and with a signed data use agreement.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

De-identified individual participant data (IPD) and supporting documents will be available to researchers for scientific research purposes. Access will be granted upon reasonable written request to the corresponding investigator, subject to approval of a research proposal and signing of a data use agreement. Shared materials will be limited to anonymized datasets and relevant study documents (e.g., study protocol, statistical analysis plan). Data will be provided through a secure electronic system.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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