Effect of Perioperative Patient Education via Animated Videos in Patients Undergoing Head and Neck Surgery

Importance: Patient education and engagement is a pivotal component of surgical recovery. Ensuring proper patient education involves a thorough understanding of one's diagnosis and recovery plan, while reducing language and learning barriers to help patients make informed decisions and improve their hospital experience. Objective: To assess whether using an animated surgical guide will help patients who are undergoing head and neck surgery feel more satisfied with their surgery and recovery process. Design, Setting, and Participants: A randomized clinical trial was conducted between January and August 2020 at a single tertiary care academic center in Montreal, Canada. A consecutive sample of individuals who were undergoing any of the following surgical procedures was recruited: head and neck cancer resection with or without reconstruction, parotidectomy, thyroidectomy, parathyroidectomy, laryngectomy, or transoral robotic resection. The treating team was masked to group allocation, while study participants in the nonintervention group were unaware of the multimedia platform to avoid introducing bias in their survey responses. Interventions: Patients were randomly allocated to either the treatment arm, in which they obtained access to a multimedia patient education platform, or the control arm, in which they received traditional patient education methods via clinical visits. Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary analysis compared patient satisfaction scores on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire INFO 25, a validated questionnaire on the perceived quality of information received by patients with cancer (possible scores ranging from 20 to 80). Results: A total of 100 patients (50 in each arm; 63 women [63%]; 6 African American [6%, 12 Hispanic/Latino [12%], 11 Middle Eastern [11%], and 78 White [78%] individuals) completed the preintervention and postintervention questionnaires. In those who received access to the patient education platform, there was an 11.3-point (Cohen d = 1.02; control group score, 61.1 of 80; treatment group score, 72.4 of 80) difference of greater postoperative satisfaction scores at 1 month. While both groups felt that they received an adequate amount of information concerning their disease process, patients in the treatment arm had significantly better satisfaction with information concerning their medical tests, treatments, and other services. Conclusions and Relevance: This randomized clinical trial of patients undergoing head and neck cancer treatment demonstrates that multimedia patient education platforms may enhance current traditional methods, providing complementary information on patients' treatment plans and recovery process, mental health, family life, and supplementary services. Further research is currently underway to confirm whether this platform will lead to decreased hospital stay, shorter complication rates, and long-term effects. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04048538.