Bridging the gap: evaluation of preoperative patients’ education by comparing expectations and real-perioperative surgical experiences: a mixed-methods descriptive cross-sectional study

• Published in: BMC health services research Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 964 - 8
• Main Authors: Ali, Zeeshan, Ahsan, Zainab, Liaqat, Nazneen, Din, Israr ud
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 21.08.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anxiety; Collaboration; Communication skills in healthcare; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Decision making; Demographics; Educational aspects; Evaluation; Female; Females; Gender; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mixed methods research; Patient education; Patient Education as Topic - methods; Patient expectations; Patient satisfaction; Patient Satisfaction - statistics & numerical data; Patient-centered care; Physician-Patient Relations; Physiology; Preoperative Care - methods; Quality of healthcare; Recovery (Medical); Stress response; Surgery; Surgical counseling; Surveys and Questionnaires; Pakistan; Surgical counseling; Communication skills in healthcare; Patient education; Patient expectations; Quality of healthcare; Patient-centered care
• ISSN: 1472-6963; 1472-6963
• DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-11388-z

Educating patients regarding surgery is an important aspect of the preoperative process. It helps individuals answer their queries, reduce anxiety, and improve overall satisfaction with the surgical experience. To compare patients' expectations with their real-perioperative surgical experiences. Also, to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative education and, thus, improve the doctor-patient relationship. Through consecutive sampling, 65 adult patients were selected from the ENT department of Khyber Teaching Hospital. Preoperative education was provided to all the subjects using a 25-point pro-forma, and their queries were addressed. Postoperatively, all participants were interviewed regarding their expectations and real perioperative surgical experiences. The gaps were noted, and participants were asked about their preferences for addressing such gaps in future interactions. Postoperatively, patients were asked to give comments on how a certain part of preoperative education could have been better delivered. Among the 65 patients, 28 (43.1%) were male, and 37 (56.9%) were female. The majority (38.5%) had a primary/secondary school education. Eight (12.3%) patients had ear surgery, 19 (29.2%) had nose surgery, and 38 (58.5%) had throat surgery. Almost 39 (60%) patients had preoperative fear/anxiety. After preoperative education, 17 (26.2%) patients experienced perioperative fear/anxiety, which was a significant reduction (p = 0.001). Preoperative anxiety was greater in females (M: F = 8:13, p = 0.00), while perioperative anxiety was comparable among both genders after patient education (M: F = 5:12, p = 0.18). The greatest dissatisfaction was noted regarding the surgical schedule (33.8%), range of motion (16.9%), deep breathing exercises (13.8%), and preoperative fasting (12.3%). Most importantly, patients' comments were noted, when they were asked to suggest a better way to educate preoperatively in their respective area of dissatisfaction. Patients appreciated detailed explanations with practical demonstrations for range of motion exercises. One patient complained about no clear instructions on postoperative resumption of snuff. Preoperative patient education should be a two-way process involving active participation and continuous feedback. By educating patients properly through a multidisciplinary approach, healthcare providers can further enhance patient satisfaction, alleviate anxiety, and improve the overall quality of care.