Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Language

English

Publication Date

11-12-2025

Journal

BMJ Open

DOI

10.1136/bmjopen-2025-103605

PMID

41224294

PMCID

PMC12612763

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

11-12-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Introduction: Depressive symptoms are common in the growing geriatric surgical population and are associated with important patient-centred surgical outcomes, including postoperative delirium, discharge to postacute care facility and decline in functional status. Few interventions have been developed to address depressive symptoms in the perioperative setting.

Methods and analysis: We designed a feasibility and acceptability study of a nine-session problem-solving therapy (PST) telehealth perioperative intervention aimed at reducing postoperative functional decline and depressive symptoms among at-risk older adults undergoing major surgical procedures. Acceptability will be evaluated using a patient-centred five-question survey, assessing participant satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the perioperative intervention. A feasibility assessment will rely on objective measures including ease of participant recruitment, frequency and timing of delivery of intervention sessions and retention of participants throughout the duration of the intervention. With respect to the efficacy of the proposed PST intervention, the primary outcome of interest is postoperative functional status, as measured by the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 at the 6-month postoperative time point. The secondary outcome of interest is the degree of depressive symptoms as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 at both 3 months and 6 months postoperatively. The broader goals of this study include: (1) assessing the feasibility of implementing a PST perioperative intervention for older surgical patients at risk of postoperative functional decline, (2) demonstrating the acceptability of the PST intervention and (3) assessing the preliminary impact of the PST intervention on postoperative functional status and depressive symptoms.

Ethics and dissemination: The study received ethical approval from the University of California San Francisco Institutional Review Board. Results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals with further dissemination at local institutional meetings and professional conferences.

Keywords

Humans, Pilot Projects, Aged, Feasibility Studies, Depression, Telemedicine, Female, Male, Postoperative Complications, Perioperative Care, Surgical Procedures, Operative, Aged, 80 and over, Psychosocial Intervention, GERIATRIC MEDICINE, Depression & mood disorders, Adult surgery, Clinical Trial

Comments

Trial registration number: NCT06174701.

Published Open-Access

yes

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