RESEARCH ARTICLE

 

Orthopaedic patients' perceptions about their pre-operative information

 

 

C Chetty^I; VJ Ehlers^II

^IM Cur (Unisa). Lecturer, King Edward viii Nursing College and M Cur graduate, Department of Health Studies, University of South Africa
^IID Litt et Phil (Unisa). Professor, Department of Health Studies, University of South Africa

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

A non-experimental, descriptive and quantitative survey was conducted to explore orthopaedic patients' perceptions about the pre-operative information received when undergoing elective surgery in two hospitals in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The findings indicate that most patients perceived the pre-operative information to be useful in their preparation for surgery. Aspects that were not addressed during preoperative information sessions included post-operative nutrition, pain medication, ambulation, deep breathing and coughing exercises. The recommendations include that all these aspects should be addressed in future pre-operative education sessions. Further research should be conducted for enhancing the pre-operative information provided to patients scheduled to undergo elective orthopaedic surgery.

Key words: patients' perceptions, pre-operative information, orthopaedic patients

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Correspondence:
Prof VJ Ehlers
PO Box 65075 ERASMUSRAND. 0165
Tel/fax: 012-347-8287
E-mail: ehlervj@unisa.ac.za
or ehlersjh@mweb.co.za