Use of a Smartphone App to Support Pre- and Post-Surgical Preparedness and to Improve Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Shoulder Arthroscopy

NCT07725224 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: IRB00475783
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This study is testing whether a smartphone app can help patients better follow instructions before and after shoulder surgery, compared to the usual paper instructions. People from all backgrounds sometimes have trouble understanding or remembering everything needed to prepare for surgery and recover safely - things like when to stop certain medications, how to shower with a special soap before surgery, or how to care for a wound afterward. Missing these steps can lead to surgery being delayed or canceled, or to problems during recovery. These difficulties can be greater for patients facing barriers such as limited health information, language differences, or lack of support at home. This study includes adults having planned shoulder arthroscopy (a type of shoulder surgery) at Johns Hopkins. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: one will receive the standard printed instructions currently used in clinic, and the other will receive the same instructions through an app on the smartphone. The app also pulls basic information from the patient's electronic health record - surgery type, date, surgeon, and medications - so instructions can be tailored to each patient. Patients using the app confirm when each step is completed, such as taking a medication or showering before surgery, and also report on how the participant is doing after surgery, which is shared with the patient's care team. The goal is to see whether the app helps patients follow instructions more closely, improves the patient's experience and recovery, and reduces the workload on nurses and clinic staff - particularly for patients who face more barriers to care.

Conditions

Shoulder Arthroscopy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Information Retention

  Self-report of retention of patient instruction information. Participants will rate their retention of key information using a 6 item scale with a score range from 0 - 12 with higher numbers indicating greater retention.

  6 weeks, 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Written Patient Instructions

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Written patient instructions

Behavioral: Written Patient Instructions

Smartphone App-based Digital Patient Instructions

EXPERIMENTAL

Smartphone app-based digital patient instructions

Behavioral: Smartphone App-based Digital Patient Instructions

Interventions

Smartphone App-based Digital Patient Instructions BEHAVIORAL

Smartphone App-based Digital Patient Instructions

Smartphone App-based Digital Patient Instructions

Written Patient Instructions BEHAVIORAL

Written Patient Instructions

Written Patient Instructions

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• scheduled for shoulder arthroscopy with participating surgeon

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Johns Hopkins University: lead
• Frontive: collaborator

Study Officials

• Richard Skolasky, Sc.D.

  Johns Hopkins University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Richard L Skolasky, Sc.D.

CONTACT

410-502-7975; rskolas1@jhmi.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 21, 2026
• First Posted: July 24, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): September 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 31, 2028
• Last Updated: July 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share