2.2. Participants and Recruitment
hearing, or speech impairment, cerebrovascular diseases
CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASES, RECURRENT DISEASE, RECRUITMENT, MALIGNANCIES, GASTRIC CANCER
A recruitment target of 12 patients per group was based on sample size recommendations for pilot studies by Julious et al. [histologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma;received D2 radical gastrectomy;access to broadband internet;patient’s age ≥ 18 years;patient agreed to participate in this trial through informed consent.Exclusion criteria included: severe post-operative morbidity; evidence of active or recurrent disease including cardiovascular, respiratory, kidney, liver, or cerebrovascular diseases et al.; existence of other malignancies within last 5 years; patients had a diagnosed vision, hearing, or speech impairment.Between December 2022 and January 2023, suitable participants (patients admitted with gastric cancer) were identified through screening of the patient databases of the participating hospitals. Once identified, we pre-contacted the potential participants to confirm eligibility in their process of diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, we then invited eligible patients to participate in the study one day before they discharged from the hospital. Written consent was obtained before attending the baseline visit.