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. 2012;9(Fall):1-10.
Epub 2012 Oct 1.

Health information: what can mobile phone assessments add?

Margareta Warrén Stomberg  1 , Birgitta Platon, Annette Widén, Ingegerd Wallner, Ove Karlsson
Affiliations

Health information: what can mobile phone assessments add?

Margareta Warrén Stomberg et al. Perspect Health Inf Manag. 2012.

Abstract

In healthcare, pain assessment is a key factor in effectively treating postoperative pain and reducing the risk of developing chronic pain. The overall aim of this study was to investigate whether a mobile phone support system can be used as a basis to continuously document patients' health information in real time and provide conditions for optimal, individual pain management after cholecystectomy and hysterectomy procedures.In this pilot study, two randomly selected groups of patients provided information about their pain for one week postoperatively. One group responded via cell phones, and the other, a control group, responded using paper-based questionnaires.The mobile phone system was found to provide a fast and safe basis for reporting pain postoperatively in real time. The results indicate that on days 3 and 4 the mobile phone group reported significantly higher levels of pain than the control group, and the cholecystectomy patients reported significantly more pain at movement on days 3 and 4 than the hysterectomy patients.The mobile phone approach is an adaptation to modern technology and the mobility of individuals. This technology is user friendly and requires minimal support. However, as the sample size was small (n = 37), further studies are needed before additional conclusions can be drawn.

Keywords: mobile technology; pain management.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow Chart for the Survey in the Mobile Phone and Control Groups
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pain at Rest, Days 1–6 Postoperatively: Outcomes Measured through Questionnaires and Mobile Phone System for Cholecystectomy and Hysterectomy Patients
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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