169 S Summary of main findings mobile application. Willingness to use an application was also strongly associated with digital literacy. Chapter 4 elaborated on stoma patients' perspectives through focus group interviews, identifying key themes such as perioperative information, the need for universally applicable information, lack of peer contact opportunities, communication with healthcare providers, and information about stoma materials. Participants deemed a mobile application useful, emphasizing the importance of up-to-date, visually appealing, and personalized information for enhanced user convenience. Clinical trials evaluating patient centred mobile applications As described in Chapter 2, mobile applications can be used to improve patient education and postoperative recovery after colorectal surgery. Based on the findings of chapter 3 and chapter 4, the “Stoma App” was developed. The protocol of the Stoma APPtimize trial is described in Chapter 5, which investigated whether self-reported quality of life of patients with a stoma can be enhanced by offering personalized and timed guidance, as well as peer contact, in the Stoma App. The intervention group used the full version of the application, while the control group received a restricted version of the application that contained only generic (non-personalized) stoma-related information. The results of the Stoma APPtimize trial are described in Chapter 6, which showed that the stoma-related quality of life one month postoperatively improved by 3.1 (p=0.038). Other clinical and patient outcomes did not improve. Chapter 7 investigated the effectiveness of the ERAS App, designed to enhance patient education, participation, and activation within the ERAS colorectal pathway. The intervention group used the ERAS App combined with an activity tracker to be guided and supported through the ERAS pathway, while the control group received standard care. The mobile application significantly improved overall patient compliance by 10%, particularly enhancing early solid food intake by 42% and early mobilisation by 27%. Other clinical or patient-reported outcomes did not improve.
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