Surgical site infection after caesarean section? There is an app for that: results from a feasibility study on costs and benefits

Fawsitt, Christopher G.; Meaney, Sarah; Greene, Richard A.; Corcoran, Paul

Surgical site infection after caesarean section? There is an app for that: results from a feasibility study on costs and benefits

Files

Surgical Site Infection after Caesarean Section_ There Is an App for That_ Results from a Feasibility Study On Costs and Benefits – Irish Medical Journal.pdf(111.24 KB)

Published Version

Date

2017

Authors

Fawsitt, Christopher G.

Meaney, Sarah

Greene, Richard A.

Corcoran, Paul

Publisher

Irish Medical Organisation

Abstract

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most common and, yet, preventable healthcare associated infections. In Ireland, the rate of Caesarean section (CS) is increasing, while postpartum hospital stay is decreasing, adversely affecting SSI among women. There is much need to develop post-discharge surveillance which can effectively monitor, detect, and arrange treatment for affected women. The use of modern technology to survey SSI following discharge from hospital remains unexplored. We report the results of a feasibility study which investigates whether an integrated mobile application (hereafter, app) is more cost-beneficial than a stand-alone app or telephone helpline at surveying SSI following CS. We find women prefer the integrated app (47.5%; n=116/244) over the stand-alone app (8.2%; n=20/244) and telephone helpline (18.0%; 44/244), although there is no significant difference in women's valuation of these services using willingness to pay techniques. The stand-alone app is the only cost-beneficial service due to low labour costs. Future research should employ alternative measures when evaluating the benefits of the health technology. The use of a mobile app as a mechanism for postpartum care could represent a considerable advancement towards technological health care.

Keywords

Surgical site infection , Caesarean section , Post-discharge surveillance , Health technology , Mobile app

Citation

Fawsitt, C., Meaney, S., Greene, R. and Corcoran, P. (2017) 'Surgical site infection after caesarean section? There is an app for that: results from a feasibility study on costs and benefits', Irish Medical Journal, 110(9), 635.