title: Diagnosis of adverse events after hysterectomy with postoperative self-care web applications: A pilot study.
abstract: Increased pressures from multiple sources are leading to earlier patient discharge following surgery. Our objective was to test the feasibility of self-care web applications to inform women if, when, and where to seek help for symptoms after hysterectomy. We asked 31 women recovering at home after hysterectomy at two centers to sign into a website on a schedule. For each session, the website informed them about normal postoperative symptoms and prompted them to complete an interactive symptom questionnaire that provided detailed information on flagged responses. We interviewed eight women who experienced an adverse event. Six of these women had used the web application regularly, each indicating they used the information to guide them in seeking care for their complications. These data support that self-care applications may empower patients to manage their own care and present to appropriate health care providers and venues when they experience abnormal symptoms.
authors.forename: Donna T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Gilmour
authors.forename: Norman J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.affiliation: Dalhousie University, Canada.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dukeshire
authors.affiliation: IWK Health Centre, Canada.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Whynot
authors.affiliation: University of British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thiel
authors.forename: Sony
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Memorial University, Canada.
authors.forename: Krisztina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bajzak
authors.affiliation: Dalhousie University, Canada.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flowerdew
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D020407:Internet; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D012984:Software; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: education of patients; hysterectomy; patient safety; postoperative complications; web-based applications