[Patients' perception of certainty about decisions to undergo surgery and the relationship between certainty and...

To evaluate the certainty of patients deciding whether or not to undergo a proposed operation and the relationship between the degree of certainty and the prior information received.

A cross-sectional study was performed using the decisional conflict scale (DCS) to evaluate the degree of certainty of patients deciding to undergo surgery. A standardized questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data (age, sex, and level of education) and details about the information the patients had received regarding the surgical procedure. Patients were classified as certain or uncertain of their decision to undergo surgery according to the DCS score. A logistic regression model was constructed to adjust for confounding factors and to analyze the relationship between certainty and variables reflecting the information received by the patient.

A total of 358 patients were included. Thirty percent of the patients stated that they had not received prior information and 31.6% showed uncertainty in their decision. Younger men with a higher level of education felt more certain of their decision. After adjusting for age, sex, and level of education, we found that uncertainty was related to the perception of not having received enough prior information (odds ratio, 43; 95% confidence interval, 2.4-7.7).

The perception of certainty is clearly linked to patients' understanding of prior information received. The results show a need to improve the information given to patients--particularly to elderly patients and those with a low level of education.