Postoperative delirium (POD) is the most common post-operative complication in the 70+ age group, affecting approximately fifteen percent of elderly patients. POD is characterized by impaired attention, awareness, and cognitive function. Both patients and their families are severely affected by the effects of this condition. While symptoms of POD occur during hospitalization, they have a critical impact on post-hospitalization quality of life, dependency on long-term care, and life expectancy.

The overarching goal of the Digi-POD project consortium is to develop a digital decision support system that makes current evidence-based guideline recommendations for POD machine-readable and allows automated, real-time validation against clinical data. In this way, the project aims to improve patient safety, reduce barriers to the implementation of current guideline recommendations, reduce workload in clinics, increase efficiency in work processes and close gaps in care.

As part of this research project, the Human-Centered Computing (HCC) research group is responsible for designing a user interface that provides guideline-based information to patients and supports their participation in POD preventive measures. The design of this interface is guided by stakeholder interviews, co-creation workshops, and user evaluations.

Project Partner

• Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin | Klinik für Anästhesiologie m.S. operative Intensivmedizin
• Krankenhausbetriebsgesellschaft Bad Oeynhausen mbH
• Technische Universität Berlin | Fachgebiet Management im Gesundheitswesen
• BARMER