Patient education in relation to informational needs and postoperative complications in surgical patients

Objective: To study surgical patients' informational expectations and the level of received knowledge at the time of hospital discharge. To examine if there is an association with postoperative complications and the patient's level of received knowledge. Design: Comparative descriptive design. Setting: The data on patients admitted for non-cardiac surgery were collected in three phases during an eight-month period. Participants: 258 in-ward non-cardiac general surgery and orthopedic surgery adult patients. Interventions: Questionnaires before admission (knowledge expectations) and at discharge (received knowledge). A telephone interview 30 days after discharge. Main Outcome Measures: Received knowledge (as much or more / less) compared to expectations, and its association with post-discharge complications. Results: There were differences between patient groups in their perception of receiving enough knowledge and they were connected to gender (male vs. female OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.55-4.60, P = 0.0004) and procedure (elective orthopedic implant surgery vs. elective minor orthopedic and hand surgery: OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.72-6.17, P = 0.0003). Patients who received less knowledge than expected had more postoperative complications than those who received sufficient (as much or more than expected) information. Conclusions: Patients differ in terms of informational needs, and preoperative education prepares the patient for the information provided postoperatively. Patient education may have an influence on recovery from surgery.