571 Improving Information Resources and Access to Hand Trauma Patients

Aim Over 110 per 100,000 of the population sustain a hand injury every year. Tendon injuries in particular involve a strict rehab protocol with protection of the tendon repair in a splint. A poor understanding of the protocols and compliance with wearing splints can adversely impact the outcome. The variety of media platforms available offers a wealth of mediums for information delivery. The aim of this project was to establish how well we transfer information currently and which medium our patients prefer for information resources. Method A survey was conducted for 20 consecutive patients who underwent hand surgery regarding their understanding of pre-operative instructions, the operative procedure, aftercare, and whether they thought a resource to refer back to would have been useful. Results Of the patients surveyed, 6/20 patients were unclear of the splint protocol and duration of use. 19/20 expressed that they would value a patient information resource to refer to. With respect to the platform for information delivery, 7 patients preferred an online resource, 6 preferred paper leaflets and 6 expressed a partiality for an audio-visual resource. Conclusions This survey has highlighted the importance of patient information resources for hand trauma patients and that surgeons should provide this information via a variety of platforms to embrace both the traditional and evolving digitalized generations. Plans are underway for creating leaflets and videos for each of the following conditions: Tendon repair, fracture fixation, washout of infection, nailbed repair, digital nerve repair, and wound closure.