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Interactive web-based format vs conventional brochure material for information transfer to children and parents: a
Gunilla Lööf1,2, Cecilia Liljeberg1, Staffan Eksborg3,4
1Department of Paediatric Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Background:
Information transfer to patients is an integral part of modern medicine. Internet-based alternatives represent a new and attractive way for information transfer.
Methods:
The study used a prospective observer-blinded design. Children (3-12 years) and parents were instructed to get further preoperative information either through an interactive web-based platform, the Anaesthesia-Web, or conventional brochure material until day of outpatient surgery. On the day of surgery, children and parents were separately asked six different questions. The primary end-point was to compare the total question score in children between the two information options (maximum score = 36). Secondary aims were the total question score for parents and the influence of age, sex, and time between the preoperative visit and day of surgery.
Results:
A total of 125 children were recruited, of which 103 were included in the final analysis (the Anaesthesia-Web group, n = 49; the brochure material group, n = 54). At the predetermined interim analysis, the total question score in children was found to be substantially higher in the Anaesthesia-Web group than in the brochure material group (median score: 27; IQR: 16.5-33 and median score: 19.5; IQR: 11.25-27.75, respectively, P = 0.0076). The median difference in score was 6; 95% CI: 0-9. The total question score in parents was also higher in the Anaesthesia-Web group than in the brochure material group. Increasing child age was associated with a higher total question score in both groups. Sex did not influence the total question score in the Anaesthesia-Web group, whereas girls scored better than boys in the brochure material group.
Conclusions:
Children in the age range 3-12 years of age as well as their parents do better attain preoperative information from an interactive web-based platform compared to conventional brochure material.
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