A SURVEY OF PATIENT RESPONSE TO PATIENT INFORMATION IN SURGICAL WARDS

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether the patients operated in surgical wards were informed adequately or not on their diseases and operations; to evaluate also the factors which effect the results. Personal and family histories are naturally very important in the diagnosis of the illnesses and treatment of the patients. Sometimes detailed information about patients or their relatives are more worthwhile than many sophisticated and expensive procedures used for diagnosis and treatment. Two hundred subjects operated in the surgical clinics of the SSK Göztepe Educational Hospital between June -August 1998 constituted the data base for this research. The questionnaire covers age, sex, department, educational level, diagnosis of the patients, the urgency and nature of the operations, the features of the informations given by the surgeon to the patients and their families concerning the diseases and the operations. Their ages ranged from 15 to 75 years, with a mean of47years. There were 108 men and 92 women. Although 85% of the patients expressed that they were informed by their surgeon, only 37% defined their illnesses and operations correctly. Those who were under the age of 60 years, with benign diseases and undergoing emergency surgeries had more detailed information than that who were older, with malignancies and operated for elective procedures (p<0.0001, p=0.0406, p=0.0297 respectively). There was no influence of education on the active knowledge of the patients. We must underline the poor quality of patient knowledge about medical procedures and the scarce information provided in our hospital. In Turkey the patients are usually not very eager to get information about the surgical interventions which may effect their life postoperatively and surgeons for one reason or another do not enlighten the patients in detail, which we believe must be changed.