Design and evaluation of a new nurse-led case management intervention for bariatric surgery patients

This paper provides a new management about the treatment of obesity, that have a growing incidence worldwide. A management centered on the patients’ needs during the bariatric surgery is necessary. In this context, patient monitoring and follow-up by a case manager, who guides the provision of specialized care focused on patient's adaptation to the new reality, can prove to be essential to achieve better outcomes. This study, guided by the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM), will have as main objective to design a new intervention (Case-managing program) aimed at patients undergoing bariatric surgery. As secondary objectives, we intend to analyze the influence of the new intervention in the perioperative period and impact on several clinical and humanistic endpoints. In the evaluation phase, an experimental, controlled, and randomized study (RCT) will be developed, with an intervention group (IG) and a control group (CG). The CG will receive the usual care and the IG, will receive the intervention for an expected period of one year. This project aims to be the first study to investigate the effect of a long-term specialized case-management intervention (face-to-face and e-health) in patients who are candidates for bariatric surgery during all the perioperative periods.