Background: Total knee replacement (TKR) or total hip replacement (THR) are common and effective procedures in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) to restore physical function and reduce joint related pain. Patient education plays an important role in the treatment process aiming to develop necessary self-management skills to facilitate recovery and ensure long-term success. We have developed a mobile app (RECOVER-E) for iOS and Android smartphones which provides important information on the preoperative phase, surgery and recovery. The concomitant study will determine the efficacy of RECOVER-E on patients' surgical outcomes. Methods/design: This study is a non-randomized, multi-centre (4 sites), double-arm, controlled trial with 1:1 assignment. 160 patients undergoing primary TKR or THR will be recruited from January until October 2019 in 4 German hospitals. Both groups will receive standard care. Additionally, the intervention group will use the app RECOVER-E. Measurements will be taken 4-6 weeks before surgery, on the day of admission to the hospital, on the first and 7th postoperative day and 3 months post-surgery. Primary outcome will be self-reported physical function measured on the activities of daily living (ADL) subscale of the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and the Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) for patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis, respectively. Secondary outcomes include the subscales for pain, symptoms, function in sport and recreation and knee/hiprelated quality of life of the HOOS and KOOS, preoperative anxiety, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), as well as, pain at rest and pain during activity measured by a numerical rating scale (NRS). Primary endpoint is 3 months post-surgery. Discussion: Mobile Health (mHealth) has become increasingly important in patient-centred health care aiming to enhance patient involvement and self-management capabilities. To our knowledge this is the first study to investigate the effect of an evidence-based mobile app on patient reported outcomes after joint replacement. This study should provide evidence supporting the use of mHealth to facilitate recovery and open up new possibilities for patient care in joint replacement. Trial registration: DRKS Data Management retrospectively registered. DRKS-ID: DRKS00012744.

Background Assistive technologies for people with dementia and their relatives have the potential to ensure, improve, and facilitate home care and thereby enhance the health of the people caring or being cared for. The number and diversity of technologies and research have continuously increased over the past few decades. As a result, the research field has become complex. Objective The goal of this scoping review was to provide an overview of the research on technology-assisted home care for people with dementia and their relatives in order to guide further research and technology development. Methods A scoping review was conducted following a published framework and by searching 4 databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and CENTRAL) for studies published between 2013 and 2018. We included qualitative and quantitative studies in English or German focusing on technologies that support people with dementia or their informal carers in the home care setting. Studies that targeted exclusively people with mild cognitive impairment, delirium, or health professionals were excluded as well as studies that solely consisted of assessments without implication for the people with dementia or their relatives and prototype developments. We mapped the research field regarding study design, study aim, setting, sample size, technology type, and technology aim, and we report relative and absolute frequencies. Results From an initial 5328 records, we included 175 studies. We identified a variety of technology types including computers, telephones, smartphones, televisions, gaming consoles, monitoring devices, ambient assisted living, and robots. Assistive technologies were most commonly used by people with dementia (77/175, 44.0%), followed by relatives (68/175, 38.9%), and both target groups (30/175, 17.1%). Their most frequent goals were to enable or improve care, provide therapy, or positively influence symptoms of people with dementia (eg, disorientation). The greatest proportions of studies were case studies and case series (72/175, 41.1%) and randomized controlled trials (44/175, 25.1%). The majority of studies reported small sample sizes of between 1 and 50 participants (122/175, 69.7%). Furthermore, most of the studies analyzed the effectiveness (85/233, 36.5%) of the technology, while others targeted feasibility or usability or were explorative. Conclusions This review demonstrated the variety of technologies that support people with dementia and their relatives in the home care setting. Whereas this diversity provides the opportunity for needs-oriented technical solutions that fit individual care arrangements, it complicates the choice of the right technology. Therefore, research on the users’ informational needs is required. Moreover, there is a need for larger studies on the technologies’ effectiveness that could contribute to a higher acceptance and thus to a transition of technologies from research into the daily lives of people with dementia and their relatives.

No abstract

BACKGROUND Assistive technologies for people with dementia and their relatives have the potential to ensure, improve, and facilitate home care and thereby enhance the health of the people caring or being cared for. The number and diversity of technologies and research have continuously increased over the past few decades. As a result, the research field has become complex. OBJECTIVE The goal of this scoping review was to provide an overview of the research on technology-assisted home care for people with dementia and their relatives in order to guide further research and technology development. METHODS A scoping review was conducted following a published framework and by searching 4 databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and CENTRAL) for studies published between 2013 and 2018. We included qualitative and quantitative studies in English or German focusing on technologies that support people with dementia or their informal carers in the home care setting. Studies that targeted exclusively people with mild cognitive impairment, delirium, or health professionals were excluded as well as studies that solely consisted of assessments without implication for the people with dementia or their relatives and prototype developments. We mapped the research field regarding study design, study aim, setting, sample size, technology type, and technology aim, and we report relative and absolute frequencies. RESULTS From an initial 5328 records, we included 175 studies. We identified a variety of technology types including computers, telephones, smartphones, televisions, gaming consoles, monitoring devices, ambient assisted living, and robots. Assistive technologies were most commonly used by people with dementia (77/175, 44.0%), followed by relatives (68/175, 38.9%), and both target groups (30/175, 17.1%). Their most frequent goals were to enable or improve care, provide therapy, or positively influence symptoms of people with dementia (eg, disorientation). The greatest proportions of studies were case studies and case series (72/175, 41.1%) and randomized controlled trials (44/175, 25.1%). The majority of studies reported small sample sizes of between 1 and 50 participants (122/175, 69.7%). Furthermore, most of the studies analyzed the effectiveness (85/233, 36.5%) of the technology, while others targeted feasibility or usability or were explorative. CONCLUSIONS This review demonstrated the variety of technologies that support people with dementia and their relatives in the home care setting. Whereas this diversity provides the opportunity for needs-oriented technical solutions that fit individual care arrangements, it complicates the choice of the right technology. Therefore, research on the users’ informational needs is required. Moreover, there is a need for larger studies on the technologies’ effectiveness that could contribute to a higher acceptance and thus to a transition of technologies from research into the daily lives of people with dementia and their relatives.

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Der Einsatz von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien in der ambulanten Pflege erfolgt vor dem Hintergrund des demografischen Wandels mit dem Ziel, auch in Zukunft die Qualität der pflegerischen Versorgung sicherzustellen. Die Akzeptanz der telematischen Anwendungen ist dabei entscheidend für die erfolgreiche Implementation. Ziel: Das Ziel der Untersuchung war eine Erfassung der subjektiven Haltungen und Einstellungen sowie der Nutzungsintention der Pflegekräfte hinsichtlich telematischer Anwendungen in der ambulanten Pflege. Methoden: Auf der theoretischen Grundlage der „Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology“ (UTAUT) wurde eine Onlineumfrage erstellt, anhand derer deutschlandweit ambulante Alten- und Krankenpflegekräfte sowie Auszubildende in Pflegeschulen befragt wurden. Insgesamt konnten 371 Befragte in die Analyse eingeschlossen werden. Ergebnisse: Der Informationsstand zur Telematik und die eigenen technischen Kompetenzen werden als gering eingeschätzt. Es wird eine verbesserte Transparenz des Pflegeprozesses erhofft; genauso wie eine Erleichterung des Austausches sektorintern und -übergreifend. Dagegen wird befürchtet, dass die telematischen Anwendungen mit erhöhten Kosten, Schulungsaufwand und Technikabhängigkeit einhergehen. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Ergebnisse zeigen die Relevanz der Einstellungen und Bedürfnisse von Nutzerinnen und Nutzern für eine erfolgreiche Implementierung. Aus-, Fort- und Weiterbildungen sollten in Zukunft verstärkt die technologische Kompetenz der Pflegekräfte fördern.