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CompletedNCT05176054Updated May 22, 2026

Digitally Enhanced Nursing Discharge Teaching Program for Geriatric Trauma

An interventional study of Digitally Enhanced Nursing Discharge Teaching Program in Trauma and Aging, sponsored by Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital. Completed at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 65 Years to 74 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-22.

Sponsored by Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
90
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
65 Years to 74 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

This quasi-experimental study evaluates the effectiveness of a digitally enhanced nursing discharge teaching program for older adults recovering from limb fractures. As patients transition from the acute trauma ward to home care, they often face significant challenges managing pain, psychological distress, and daily functioning. This study compares a structured, digitally supported educational intervention against standard hospital discharge care. The primary goal is to determine if the digital program improves patients' pain intensity, depressive symptoms, and overall quality of life during the first six weeks post-discharge compared to routine care.

Read the detailed description

Geriatric trauma patients, specifically those suffering from limb fractures, experience a high risk of poor functional and psychological outcomes following hospital discharge. Standard discharge teaching is often constrained by the fast-paced nature of acute trauma wards, limiting patients' ability to retain critical recovery information. To address this, the current study implemented a digitally enhanced nursing discharge teaching program.

This study utilized a non-randomized, quasi-experimental design with two parallel arms: a contrast group receiving standard routine discharge care, and an experimental group receiving the digitally enhanced program. The digital intervention included interactive, multimedia educational content delivered prior to discharge, supplemented by structured telephone follow-ups by nursing staff to reinforce symptom management, mobility safety, and recovery strategies at home.

Participants were recruited continuously based on acute hospital admissions. The primary outcomes assessed were pain intensity (Numeric Pain Rating Scale), depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form), and overall quality of life (WHOQOL). Data were collected at three distinct time points: baseline (prior to hospital discharge), two weeks post-discharge, and six weeks post-discharge. The study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy of this digital transition model and its feasibility for integration into routine geriatric trauma care.

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Conditions studied

  • Trauma
  • Aging

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03

In context

Wounds and Injuries

5,056 studies on the registry are indexed under Wounds and Injuries; 861 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 90 is above the median of 52 across 3,239 interventional studies indexed under Wounds and Injuries.

Browse Wounds and Injuries studies →

Lead sponsor

Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital is the lead sponsor of 281 studies on the registry; 57 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
65 Years to 74 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • First-time patients with limb fracture as the primary diagnosis.
  • Capable of independent mobility before the injury.
  • Able to communicate in Mandarin.
  • Willing to participate from hospital discharge to six weeks post-discharge.
  • Able to use a smartphone and have internet access.
  • A pain score greater than four on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS).
  • A depression score greater than four on the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Were cognitively impaired.
  • Suffered from cardiovascular, pulmonary, or cerebral insufficiency.
  • Had a history of psychiatric or terminal illnesses.
  • Had visual impairments.
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
90 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Experimental group

    Participants in this experimental arm receive the digitally enhanced nursing discharge teaching program. This includes interactive, multimedia educational content delivered prior to hospital discharge, followed by structured telephone follow-ups during the 6-week recovery period.

    Other: Digitally Enhanced Nursing Discharge Teaching Program

  • No intervention
    Contrast group

    Participants in this contrast arm receive a standard pamphlet, routine hospital discharge care and standard verbal education prior to transitioning home.

Interventions

  • OtherDigitally Enhanced Nursing Discharge Teaching Program

    A structured transitional care program utilizing interactive, multimedia digital content to teach pain management, psychological coping, and recovery strategies. The initial digital education provided in the acute ward is supplemented by scheduled telephone follow-up sessions conducted by nursing staff to reinforce the material and support patients in their home environment.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire

    The WHOQoOL-BREF will be used to measure quality of life. Six popular generic instruments of HRQOL are commonly used as disability outcome measures, some of them were developed later were tested trans-culturally in extensive research programs such as the WHOQoL-BREF. The WHOQoL-BREF is a 26-item scale that is measure along with four subscales including physical, psychological, social relationship and environment domains. Scores range from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating higher quality of life. The reliability and validity of the Chinese WHOQoL-BREF have been tested in patients with traumatic injuries, but not in geriatric trauma. Thus, the Cronbach's alpha for this study will be retested.

    Time frame: Baseline (1 day prior to hospital discharge), 2 weeks post-discharge, and 6 weeks post-discharge.

Secondary outcomes

  1. The Numeric Pain Rating Scale

    The NPRS is a one-dimensional measure of pain intensity in adults. A NPRS has similar anchors at the extremes but offers numbers from 0 through 10. It is well known and broadly used scale in clinical settings. No further reliability and validity tests are needed.

    Time frame: Baseline (1 day prior to hospital discharge), 2 weeks post-discharge, and 6 weeks post-discharge.

  2. The Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form

    The GDS-SF is a 15-item scale used to identify depression in older adults. It is from the original GDS developed by Sheikh and Yesavage to examine the self-perceived emotions of older adults. The version will be used in this study is a validated Chinese that has been tested its reliability in geriatric older population in Taiwan. The GDS-SF features binary scores for a total score of 0-15. A higher score indicates a more severe of depression. In the GDS-SF, a score of 0 to 5 is normal, a score \> 5 suggests depression, and a score ≥ 10 is almost indicative of depression. The Cronbach's alpha for this study will be retested.

    Time frame: Baseline (1 day prior to hospital discharge), 2 weeks post-discharge, and 6 weeks post-discharge.

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Study locations

1 site
  • Kaohsiung Medical University
    Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 22, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05176054
Lead sponsor
Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 4, 2022
Start date
Jan 2, 2023
Primary completion
Feb 29, 2024
Completion
Feb 29, 2024
Last update
May 22, 2026

Study contacts

Bih-O Lee, PHD
principal investigator · Kaohsiung Medical University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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