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. 2023 Feb 8;18(1):66.
doi: 10.1186/s13019-023-02153-0.

Parents' understanding and attitudes toward the use of the WeChat platform for postoperative follow-up management of children with congenital heart disease

Wen-Hao Lin  1 , Yu-Kun Chen  1 , Shi-Hao Lin  1 , Hua Cao  1 , Qiang Chen  2
Affiliations

Parents' understanding and attitudes toward the use of the WeChat platform for postoperative follow-up management of children with congenital heart disease

Wen-Hao Lin et al. J Cardiothorac Surg. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate parents' understanding and attitudes toward using the WeChat platform for postoperative follow-up management of children with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Methods: A total of 196 children with CHD were followed up using the WeChat platform. A self-designed questionnaire was administered to their parents at discharge.

Results: Only 188 parents completed the questionnaire. One hundred nineteen parents (63.3%) confirmed that they heard about using the WeChat platform for postoperative follow-up, and 104 (87.4%) of them expressed that they were willing to accept the WeChat platform for their follow-up. A total of 42 parents (35.3%) were willing to undergo a follow-up of 1 to 3 months, and 32 (26.8%) were willing to undergo a long-term follow-up. Eighty parents (67.2%) had a positive attitude toward the effect of the WeChat platform on follow-up. Parents in rural areas and those educated at the middle school level or below were more willing to engage with the WeChat platform for postoperative follow-up management (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Although the WeChat platform is an essential tool for daily communication, its application in postoperative follow-up management is still under study. Most parents who participated in the follow-up study had a positive attitude toward the WeChat platform, especially those in rural areas and with lower education levels.

Keywords: Attitude; Congenital heart disease; Follow-up; Post-operation; Understanding; WeChat.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declared that they had no competing interests.

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