Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) in an outpatient oncology surgery setting to securely email, collect, and manage survey data

Abstract

Background

Nursing interventions in the post-operative time period including psychological and emotional support, adverse event education, and instructions for follow-up care contribute patient satisfaction, safety, and quality of life. However, the time spent in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and hospital continues to shorten around the world to reduce health care spending and improve patient outcomes. Nurses conducting research during the important post-operative recovery period need to utilize unique techniques and emerging technologies to contact, recruit and collect data outside of the hospital setting including the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) platform.

Aims

This paper describes the feasibility and acceptability, facilitators and barriers of the software application, REDCap, to complete a repeated-measures, descriptive correlational study in patients undergoing outpatient breast cancer surgeries.

Methods & Materials

The recruitment, data collection and storage were completed utilizing the secure REDCap Platform. The Institutional Research Board (IRB)-approved study was a repeated-measures, descriptive, correlational study with data collection at three time points. The data points aligned with important transitions and routine visits to improve data collection feasibility and increase relevance to clinical practice.

Results

The sample consisted of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergoing breast conserving surgery between August 15 and October 15, 2020. There were 123 potential participants, of which 76 started the surveys and 75 participated (61%) responded and participated in the study on Post-operative Day 1. Fifty-nine participants (78%) completed the surveys on post-operative Day 14.

Discussion

As the frequency of outpatient treatment increases, nurses conducting post-operative research will need to collect the data outside of the hospital setting.

Conclusion

Email provides a method of studying new phenomena by recruiting participants, providing information about the study, and collecting results in a non-traditional setting. REDCap provides a method to facilitate nursing research through a securely encrypted integrated process.