Background

We have done a small study which showed that preparing children for surgery reduced the amount of time they spent in hospital.

This could mean less time off school. Our study introduced a new programme which teaches children how to use walking aids before their operation. It also teaches them exercises to strengthen their muscles and let them know what to expect after surgery. This can improve the patient journey. We want to test this programme in a large study.

Please watch our animation to find out more.

Participant Information Animation

Waiting for hip, leg or foot surgery can feel like a long time.

The recovery afterwards can take a long time too.

The PREPARE KIDS study is on a mission to find out if young people can recover faster.

And we need your help!

We’re trying out a “get ready” programme before surgery.

This includes things like learning leg exercises… practising how to move safely… and planning for going home after the surgery.

Could this help you bounce back faster?

For adults, these “get ready” sessions - called prehabilitation - can speed up recovery.

But children aren’t just small adults.

So now we want to find out if it works for young people too.

We’re inviting young people aged 5 to 14 years who are having hip, leg or foot surgery to join the study.

Half will get the usual care, plus one extra “get ready” session with a healthcare professional.

The other half will only have the usual care – the same as young people do now.

To keep things fair, a process called randomisation will be used to split the groups.

A computer decides who is in each group.

If you take part in the study, you or your parent or guardian will answer some short questions about your movement… any pain… and how you’re feeling.

You’ll answer these before your surgery and again at 2, 6 and 12 weeks after surgery.

Taking part is completely up to you.

If you do take part and decide you want to stop, that’s totally fine - you’ll still get the same care.

Some people will also get a phone call to chat about their recovery and their experience of the study.

You can say no if you don’t want the phone call.

If you’re interested in taking part in this study, please talk to your hospital team.

You can find their details in the information you’ve been given.

They’ll chat with you and your parents and answer your questions.

By joining PREPARE KIDS, you’ll be helping us improve care for young people having surgery in the future.

Together, we can make recovery easier for everyone.

Why are we doing this research?

We are doing this research for three reasons:

Preparing children for hip and leg surgery is a top research priority. We asked over 400 people (children, their parents/carers and doctors) their thoughts. Responses showed that preparing children for surgery was a top research area. Especially if children could recover more quickly and save the NHS money.
To reduce NHS waiting lists and costs following the COVID-19 pandemic. By reducing the amount of time each child spends in hospital, it may help reduce the burden on NHS beds, enabling improvements in waiting lists and costs.
To provide a more positive patient journey and less time off school.

The PREPARE KIDS Study

Background

Participant Information Animation

Why are we doing this research?

Taking Part

About the Study

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