Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Participatory Medicine
Date Submitted: Aug 29, 2025
Date Accepted: Feb 28, 2026
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
A care transitions e-clinical pathway for patients with chronic conditions: Developing and integrating end-user education and resources
ABSTRACT
Background:
Understanding patient educational requirements for care transitions is crucial for ensuring safe and effective care for patients with multiple chronic conditions (MCC).
Objective:
Within a larger study developing an e-clinical pathway to support the safe transition for patients with MCC from hospital to home and then to primary care, this study identified, evaluated, and integrated content to meet the educational requirements of potential end users of the e-clinical pathway. Participants in the primary study described preferred education content, education considerations, and education presentation and display. Methods/
Results:
Through the qualitative secondary analysis, utilizing an inductive/deductive hybrid thematic analysis, we identified the following themes regarding specific education requirements for MCC transitions: (1) essential end-user education includes condition-specific, nutrition, and medication content; (2) education must be truthful, accessible, and consider end-user health literacy; and (3) education presentation can be enhanced with graphics, reminders, and end-user resources.
Conclusions:
The findings were used to develop an educational pathway with targeted and tailored content to support patients with MCC as they transition from an acute hospitalization back to their primary care provider which was implemented in the study app. Study findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of end-user education requirements and informed enhancements to the patient facing app used in the primary study.
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Copyright
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