E-Posters-10145

10145_Dunivan

Pdf Summary

The study examined the patient perspective on surgical adverse events (AEs) in pelvic reconstructive surgery for urinary incontinence and/or pelvic organ prolapse. The researchers conducted 12 focus groups with English-speaking women who were scheduled to undergo or had already undergone surgery. The focus groups were conducted at different time periods: preoperative, immediate postoperative, and long-term postoperative. The transcripts of the focus group discussions were analyzed qualitatively using NVivo10.<br /><br />The results indicated that surgical AEs are common and can be life-threatening. However, most surgical classification systems do not include patient input. Patients' expectations and outcome experience may be misaligned, and patients may view adverse functional outcomes as AEs and consider them severe. The conceptual framework created in the study aimed to identify concepts important to patients that are not currently represented in guidelines for adverse events associated with pelvic reconstructive surgery.<br /><br />The major themes identified in the focus groups included a range of standard AEs, concerns about the recovery period, returning to normal and work, the physical and emotional toll of surgery, misaligned expectations and experience, sexual function, feelings of failure or shame for symptom recurrence, and the impact of AEs on self and family.<br /><br />The study also highlighted the importance of patient-provider interaction, including the views of provider expertise and experience, the patient's need for understanding of the surgery, and the alignment of AEs with expectations. Other factors such as patient age, optimism, support network, preparedness, the severity of the condition, and prior treatment/surgery were found to influence patient expectations for surgery and surgical outcomes/AEs.<br /><br />Overall, the study emphasized the need for patient input in classifying AEs and the importance of negotiating expectations prior to surgery to improve patient satisfaction. The findings provide valuable insights for improving patient-centered care and developing guidelines that accurately represent the patient perspective on surgical AEs.

Keywords

patient perspective

surgical adverse events

pelvic reconstructive surgery

focus groups

adverse functional outcomes

misaligned expectations

sexual function

patient-provider interaction

patient satisfaction

patient-centered care