Enhancing the Informed Consent Process in Pediatric Surgery Through an Educational Smartphone Application: Feasibility and Outcomes

Background: Informed consent(IC)isessentialinmedicaldecision-making,ensuringthatpatientsandtheirfamiliesfully understand theconsequencesoftreatmentoptions.Inpediatricsurgery,however,theprocessisofteninadequatedueto limited consultationtime,highparentalanxiety,andwidespreadmisinformation.Thisstudyevaluatestheeffectiveness ofthe “ChPedBo” smartphone applicationinimprovingparentalunderstandingandreducingpreoperativeanxiety. Methods: A prospectiveobservationalstudywasconductedattheDepartmentofPediatricSurgery,IRCCSSant’Orsola-Malpighi University HospitalofBologna.Atotalof150questionnairesweredistributedtoparentsofchildrenscheduledforelective surgery; 100completedquestionnaireswereincludedinthe final analysis.Parentscompletedastructured9-itemquestionnaire assessing knowledge,anxiety,usefulness,andsatisfactionbeforeandafterusingthe “ChPedBo” app. Statisticalanalysis included theWilcoxonsigned-ranktest,withasignificance thresholdsetat p < 0 05. Results: Parental knowledgeoftheirchild’s conditionsignificantly improvedafterusingtheapp,withmeanscoresincreasing from 2.39to3.14(p = 3 88 ×10−6). Similarly,comprehensionofthesurgicalprocedureimprovedfrom2.27to3.20 (p = 1 71 ×10−6). Preoperativeanxietylevelsdecreasedfrom1.64to1.36(p = 0 0073). Theappwasratedhighlyuseful(mean score 2.64)andreceivedahighoverallsatisfactionrating(meanscore2.70). Conclusions: The “ChPedBo” app significantly enhancedparentalunderstandingandreducedpreoperativeanxiety, demonstrating itspotentialasavaluabledigitaltoolintheICprocessforpediatricsurgery.Futurestudiesshouldexploreits application inemergencysettingsanditslong-termimpact.