A randomised, double-blinded clinical study on the efficacy of multimedia presentation using an iPad for patient education of postoperative hip surgery patients in a public hospital in Singapore

ABSTRACT

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>This study compared patient satisfaction and recall of physiotherapy patient education among patients who had undergone hip surgery, with information presented via an iPad versus a standard paper booklet.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Patients who had undergone hip surgery joined and completed this single-centre study, which utilised a randomised parallel group design. They were randomly allocated to either Group A (received information on hip surgery physiotherapy via an iPad) or Group B (received the same information via a paper booklet). The participants were blinded to the intervention received by the other group and the testers were blinded to the intervention received by the participants. The interventions were carried out during the patients' first four postoperative physiotherapy sessions. The outcome measures were recorded using pre-validated questionnaires.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 42 participants (mean age 70 ± 12 years) were recruited. After the intervention, patients in both groups had improved recall of the information presented during patient education. However, the patients in Group A had a significantly better recall score than those in Group B (4.0 points higher, p < 0.001). The level of patient satisfaction was also significantly higher in Group A than in Group B (8.5 points higher, p < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>While the use of an iPad and a paper booklet both had positive outcomes for patient recall and satisfaction, the use of an iPad was found to be more effective at improving patient satisfaction and recall of physiotherapy patient education in the present study.</p>