Patients’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences with the Optimal Physical Recovery After Hospitalization (OPRAH) intervention

Background: The Optimal Physical Recovery After Hospitalization (OPRAH) intervention was developed to improve physical recovery in patients after gastrointestinal or lung cancer surgery. The OPRAH intervention consists of a smartphone app enabling self-monitoring of physical activity and protein intake in combination with remote coaching by a healthcare professional after hospitalization. In addition to the evaluation of effectiveness, we investigated the experiences of patients and healthcare professionals with this intervention.
Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the experiences of patients and healthcare professionals using the OPRAH intervention.
Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used, consisted of semi-structured interviews and online survey. The online survey for patients included the System Usability Scale (SUS). Topics of the interviews were: the influence of nutrition and physical activity on recovery and experiences of the Atris app, the activity tracker, and coaching on distance. For interviews with healthcare professionals additional questions about collaboration and knowledge were asked. Interviews were analysed qualitative using inductive thematic strategy.
Results: 55 surveys, 10 interviews with patients, 4 physiotherapists interviews, and 6 dieticians interviews. Participants rated the app highly usable (SUS 86.1) and mentioned that the OPRAH intervention was stimulating and motivating. They appreciated the opportunity to be actively involved in their recovery. The use of an activity tracker and protein diary, along with personalised goals, was perceived as a significant help in staying on the right track. Patients mentioned that they felt seen and supported. 96% of the patients would recommend this intervention to other patients, based on the survey. However, patients reported technical issues that need to be solved. In addition, some patients do not like the appearance of the activity tracker. Healthcare professionals stated that the availability of continuous data on activity and dietary intake facilitates the provision of personalised care. However, they mentioned that accurate interpretation of the collected data requires additional knowledge in order to make it valuable to the intervention.
Conclusions: The feasibility of the OPRAH intervention is supported by positive user experiences from patients and healthcare professionals, as well as good system usability. Improvements to the activity tracker's technical issues and design could aid in its implementation in regular healthcare.