Ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patients' emotions when using different patient education methods

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Patient Education
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Patient education is crucial for managing emotions during surgical procedures.
• Traditional face-to-face and newer internet-based methods are used for patient education.
• Evaluating the emotional impact of different educational modalities is important for patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the emotional impact of internet-based versus face-to-face patient education on elective ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patients.
• To assess how patient education influences emotions throughout the surgical process.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial design was employed.
• Patients received either individually tailored internet-based education or face-to-face nurse education.
• Emotional scores were recorded at multiple points during the surgical journey.

Main Results:

• Ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patients reported low emotional scores throughout the surgical process.
• Emotional scores fluctuated during the surgical process.
• Neither education method led to a decrease in negative emotions post-intervention.
• No significant differences in patient emotions were observed between the two education groups.

Conclusions:

• Current internet-based and face-to-face patient education methods show no discernible effect on patient emotions in ambulatory orthopaedic surgery.
• Further research may be needed to explore more effective patient education strategies for emotional well-being in surgical patients.