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Parental Engagement of a Prototype Electronic Diary in an Ambulatory Setting Following Adenotonsillectomy in Children: A Prospective Cohort Study

Authors :
Sam J. Daniel
Sharmila Balram
Chantal Frigon
Karen A. Brown
Tobial Mchugh
Source :
Children, Volume 8, Issue 7, Children, Vol 8, Iss 559, p 559 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Adenotonsillectomy is performed in children on an outpatient basis, and pain is managed by parents. A pain diary would facilitate pain management in the ambulatory setting. Our objective was to evaluate the parental response rate and the compliance of a prototype electronic pain diary (e-diary) with cloud storage in children aged 2–12 years recovering from adenotonsillectomy and to compare the e-diary with a paper diary (p-diary). Parents recorded pain scores twice daily in a pain diary for 2 weeks post-operation. Parents were given the choice of an e-diary or p-diary with picture message. A total of 208 patients were recruited, of which 35 parents (16.8%) chose the e-diary. Most parents (98%) chose to be contacted by text message. Eighty-one families (47%) returned p-diaries to us by mail. However, the response rate increased to 77% and was similar to that of the e-diary (80%) when we included data texted to the research phone from 53 families. The proportion of diaries with Complete (e-diary:0.37 vs. p-diary:0.4) and Incomplete (e-diary:0.43 vs. p-diary:0.38) data entries were similar. E-diaries provide a means to follow patients in real time after discharge. Our findings suggest that a smartphone-based medical health application coupled with a cloud would meet the needs of families and health care providers alike.

Details

ISSN :
22279067
Volume :
8
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Children
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....69d0727640ba63463af7ba66f4442824
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/children8070559