Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews
Objectives To explore patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring.Design Explanatory mixed methods study with an online survey followed by online interviews.Setting The online survey was distributed via the Cardiothoracic Interdisciplinary Research Network and cardi...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e087320.full |
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| author | Keith Wilson Nigel Westwood Catherine Wloch Pauline Harrington Luke J Rogers Judith Tanner Gavin Murphy Colin S Brown Jeremy Dearling Ricky Vaja Melissa Rochon Lyn Brierley Jones |
| author_facet | Keith Wilson Nigel Westwood Catherine Wloch Pauline Harrington Luke J Rogers Judith Tanner Gavin Murphy Colin S Brown Jeremy Dearling Ricky Vaja Melissa Rochon Lyn Brierley Jones |
| author_sort | Keith Wilson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives To explore patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring.Design Explanatory mixed methods study with an online survey followed by online interviews.Setting The online survey was distributed via the Cardiothoracic Interdisciplinary Research Network and cardiac surgery patient and public involvement groups in London and Leicester, UK. Participants were invited to share the survey link with other patients and carers. Interviewees were recruited through the survey.Participants Seventy participants completed the survey: 74% patients and 26% carers. A range of ages, sex, ethnicities and geographical locations were represented. Six survey patient participants volunteered to be interviewed.Findings Themes identified were the impact on patients of having a surgical site infection, patients’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound follow-up, access to specialist support, wound monitoring using digital technology and receiving information from the hospital about wounds and wound care. Interviewees described feeling isolated after discharge from hospital and 10% of survey patient respondents, including four of the six interviewees, reported hospital readmissions. Survey respondents’ preferred routes for providing hospitals with wound information were over the telephone (30%), emails (24%), text messages (16%) and photos sent securely (14%). All six interviewees’ preference was for digital approaches using images. Survey respondents were least likely (50%) to reply to questionnaires that required software to be downloaded and installed. Interviewees considered digital wound monitoring to be convenient and the best use of patient and staff resources. A new theme was identified where patients wanted to become more involved in treating their surgical wounds at home.Conclusion Experiences described by participants suggests there is a need to improve post-discharge wound monitoring. A new approach should be proactive, ongoing and provide easy access to healthcare services. Digital surgical wound monitoring offers these benefits and is acceptable to patients.Trial registration number ISRCTN13950775; Post-results. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-29ad6af394b2499f9e1ed0211961ef43 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-29ad6af394b2499f9e1ed0211961ef432025-01-27T09:00:12ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-01-0115110.1136/bmjopen-2024-087320Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviewsKeith Wilson0Nigel Westwood1Catherine Wloch2Pauline Harrington3Luke J Rogers4Judith Tanner5Gavin Murphy6Colin S Brown7Jeremy Dearling8Ricky Vaja9Melissa Rochon10Lyn Brierley Jones111Shattuck Labs, Durham, NC, USAPatient Researcher, Nottingham, UKHealthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, Public Health England, London, UKHealthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, Public Health England, London, UKDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Plymouth, UKUniversity of Nottingham, Nottingham, UKDepartment of Cardiovascular Sciences and NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Unit in Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Leicester, Leicester, UKinterim director of clinical and emerging infections directorate1University of East Anglia, UKDepartment of Cardiovascular Sciences Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK2 Infection Prevention and Control, Guy`s and St Thomas` NHS Foundation Trust, London, UKSchool of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UKObjectives To explore patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring.Design Explanatory mixed methods study with an online survey followed by online interviews.Setting The online survey was distributed via the Cardiothoracic Interdisciplinary Research Network and cardiac surgery patient and public involvement groups in London and Leicester, UK. Participants were invited to share the survey link with other patients and carers. Interviewees were recruited through the survey.Participants Seventy participants completed the survey: 74% patients and 26% carers. A range of ages, sex, ethnicities and geographical locations were represented. Six survey patient participants volunteered to be interviewed.Findings Themes identified were the impact on patients of having a surgical site infection, patients’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound follow-up, access to specialist support, wound monitoring using digital technology and receiving information from the hospital about wounds and wound care. Interviewees described feeling isolated after discharge from hospital and 10% of survey patient respondents, including four of the six interviewees, reported hospital readmissions. Survey respondents’ preferred routes for providing hospitals with wound information were over the telephone (30%), emails (24%), text messages (16%) and photos sent securely (14%). All six interviewees’ preference was for digital approaches using images. Survey respondents were least likely (50%) to reply to questionnaires that required software to be downloaded and installed. Interviewees considered digital wound monitoring to be convenient and the best use of patient and staff resources. A new theme was identified where patients wanted to become more involved in treating their surgical wounds at home.Conclusion Experiences described by participants suggests there is a need to improve post-discharge wound monitoring. A new approach should be proactive, ongoing and provide easy access to healthcare services. Digital surgical wound monitoring offers these benefits and is acceptable to patients.Trial registration number ISRCTN13950775; Post-results.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e087320.full |
| spellingShingle | Keith Wilson Nigel Westwood Catherine Wloch Pauline Harrington Luke J Rogers Judith Tanner Gavin Murphy Colin S Brown Jeremy Dearling Ricky Vaja Melissa Rochon Lyn Brierley Jones Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews BMJ Open |
| title | Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews |
| title_full | Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews |
| title_fullStr | Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews |
| title_short | Exploratory study of patients’ and carers’ preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews |
| title_sort | exploratory study of patients and carers preferences for postdischarge surgical wound monitoring using survey and interviews |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e087320.full |
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