The Effect of Smart Care Model on the Improvement of Physical and Psychological Adaptation among Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Objective: The objective of the three-year study is to explore the effect of Self-Management with APP and Reminder Technology (SMART) care model on the improvement of physical and psychological adaptation in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods: In the first phase, an application of self-management comprised static website visiting and dynamic interactions will be developed to improve the ability of self-management including health care, daily activities, and emotional adjustment in patients with liver cirrhosis. In the second phase, a randomized controlled trial is conducted to examine the effectiveness of SMART care model on the physical and psychological adaptation. A total of 104 patients with liver cirrhosis will be randomly assigned to two groups: intervention group and waiting list group who receiving SMART care and usual care, respectively. Outcome measurements are pre-test, and at the three and six month after pre-test. The instruments include illness perception, multidimensional symptoms questionnaire, hospital anxiety and depression scale, and short-form Chinese health-promoting lifestyle profile. Generalized Liner Models（GEE or GLMM）will be used to identify the effectiveness of SMART care model using application of self-management on improving physical and psychological adaptation. Conclusions: The results help identify the benefit of SMART care model in patients with liver cirrhosis. Furthermore, a simple and useful strategy could be better provided to improve physical and psychological adaptation for patients with liver cirrhosis.