An Evaluation of Timing of Discharge Instruction and the Impact on Patient Satisfaction.

PURPOSE: Surgical patients face unique challenges with discharge instructions and retention. The volume of information provided to patients, frequently combined with sedatives and opioids, leads to failure to retain this crucial information needed for home care. The purpose of this project was to implement a preoperative teaching intervention to provide written and verbal discharge instructions in the preoperative area before the administration of anesthetic agents to improve patient retention of information, and improve percentile ranking on the Outpatient Ambulatory Surgery- Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems (OAS-CAHPS) survey. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive METHODS: An additional educational intervention was implemented to provide discharge instructions in the preoperative area. Data was collected from the Press-Ganey database on patient responses to questions 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, and 21 and the global discharge domain scores of the OAS-CAHPS survey over a period of 12 weeks. This data was compared to the patient responses to the same questions over the same date range in the year time prior. FINDINGS: Statistical analysis demonstrated significant change in the percentile rank scores for the intervention period (P = .0024). Average percentile rank change on discharge domain questions was an increase by 50 points. Patient and staff feedback further demonstrated value to the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Providing discharge instructions in the preoperative area in addition to providing instructions immediately before discharge can improve the percentile rankings associated with OAS-CAHPS questions related to discharge.

A mobile application for postoperative education of caregivers of children with congenital hypospadias: Requirement analysis.

Background and Aims: Hypospadias, a congenital anomaly, can have long-term effects on sexual, urinary, and reproductive functions, making proper postoperative care essential for desirable outcomes, which could be facilitated through a mobile application for diseases with long-term complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the data and functional requirements or minimum data set of a postoperative education mobile application for caregivers of children with hypospadias. Methods: A literature review of papers published until April 2023 using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was conducted to determine the data and functional requirements of a mobile application that provides postoperative education to caregivers of children with congenital hypospadias. Based on the results, a questionnaire was prepared, and its content validity and reliability were evaluated by CVI and CVR. Additionally, data was examined by 30 residents, specialists, and subspecialists in pediatric surgery using the Delphi approach. Results: The study identified 28 data elements in three main categories: demographic data, clinical data, and application function. Functional requirements of the mobile application were suggested for use in designing the application. Also, the most critical data elements included the definition of disease, the importance of treatment, surgical preparation, bandage, hygiene, symptoms and infection, bleeding, and emergency condition. Conclusion: The study will pave the way for developing postoperative educational applications for caregivers of children with congenital hypospadias. M-Health app developers and clinician specialists can utilize these findings to design practical applications that assist caregivers in managing the care of hypospadias patients.

Postoperative education and information-giving for the individual undergoing elective ostomy surgery.

Postoperative stoma education is an essential aspect of care for all types of stoma formation because having a stoma impacts on every aspect of a person's life. This critical review of the literature explores stoma patients' needs and wants; postoperative education care guidelines; the role of ward link nurses; and care pathways. The findings from this review demonstrate that there is no national standard postoperative stoma care pathway, yet such pathways are a cost-effective means to improve patient outcomes and care. The review also identified that structured care pathways are not a new concept, but there is a lack of formal research to determine best practice in postoperative stoma education. In the UK, there is wide variation in practice and outcomes, which means that effectiveness cannot be accurately measured. The author has developed and implemented a multidisciplinary postoperative education pathway in line with a national need to further refine postoperative stoma care services to meet stoma patients' needs.

Effects of Individualized Postoperative Education on Anxiety Levels and Self-Care Compliance after One-Day Cataract Surgery

PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of additional postoperative individualized teaching on the anxiety levels and self-care compliance of postoperative care in patients after one-day cataract surgery. METHODS: The present study included 80 cataract patients who underwent phacoemulsification and posterior intraocular lens insertion performed by a single operator between January 2011 and February 2011. The control group consisted of patients who received postoperative education from an ophthalmology coordinator based on previous hospital policy. The experiment group consisted of patients who received additional individualized postoperative education from an operator in the recovery room. Trait anxiety on operation day, state anxiety on postoperative day 1, and self-care compliance and postoperative satisfaction at postoperative 1 month were evaluated. RESULTS: There were no significant differences of trait anxiety levels on operation day or state anxiety on postoperative day 1 between the control and experiment groups. The experiment group revealed a higher score on the postoperative self-care compliance questionnaire, especially regarding care of the operation site. CONCLUSIONS: Individualized postoperative education increases self-care compliance level and contributes to improve postoperative recovery after one-day cataract surgery.