Results
From August 2017 to January 2020, a total of 112 eligible patients were approached to enroll in this study. A total cohort of 43 patients preparing for general abdominal (The mean (SD) age of the 43 patients completing baseline assessments was 67.8 (8.5) years with 41 (95%) males, 39 (91%) Whites, 4 (9%) Blacks, 1 (2%) nursing home resident, 1 (2%) with external support for meals and cleaning, 5 (12%) living at home with assistance of a caregiver and 36 (84%) living independently. Patients’ education status ranged from 16 (37%) with a high school diploma or less education, 15 (35%) with some college or a two-year degree, and 11 (26%) with a college degree or more. 27 (63%) patients were interested in video telehealth delivery of prehabilitation coaching, with 34 (79%) having access to either an internet-enabled home computer or a smart phone sufficient for telehealth sessions.Mean (SD) RAI at baseline was 35.1 (10.2) which is close to the threshold of 37 corresponding to the highest risk decile of surgical patients and consistent with pre-clinical frailty (Duration of prehabilitation ranged from 3–10 weeks with a median of 5 weeks and a mean (SD) of 5.2 (Physical function was low at baseline and improved significantly by the day of surgery after completing the prehabilitation, although the improvement typically attenuated by postoperative day 90 (Respiratory function also improved over time, and these improvements appeared to endure through postoperative day 90, although without statistical significance (Baseline quality of life utility was modestly diminished (0.71) and improved slightly by postoperative day 90 (0.76), but this did not reach statistical significance (Patients’ preference for operative management remained strong and decision regret remained low from the day of surgery through postoperative day 90 with no statistically significant change (