Determinants of Pain Care Quality After Abdominal Surgery: Fear and Postoperative Pain

Postoperative pain management is a core indicator of care quality after abdominal surgery and is influenced by both clinical and psychological factors.

This study aimed to identify determinants of postoperative pain care quality in patients undergoing abdominal surgery and to examine the effects of preoperative fear of pain and postoperative pain intensity on perceived pain care quality.

This single-center descriptive and correlational study included 102 patients undergoing laparoscopic abdominal surgery.

A university hospital located in the south of Turkey.

Data were collected using a Patient Information Form, the Strategic and Clinical Quality Indicators in Postoperative Pain Management questionnaire, the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III, and the Visual Analog Scale. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and multiple linear regression were performed with a significance level of 0.05.

The mean pain care quality (strategic and clinical quality indicators in postoperative pain management questionnaire) score of the patients was 58.74 ± 8.31. The findings indicated that as preoperative fear of pain and postoperative pain intensity increased, patients' perceived quality of pain care decreased significantly. Examination of the determinants of pain care quality showed that ASA score, postoperative pain intensity, and fear of pain together accounted for approximately 21% of the variance in perceived pain care quality and were identified as significant predictors.

In this study, the perceived level of postoperative pain management quality was found to be moderate, and preoperative fear of pain, postoperative pain intensity, and ASA score were identified as significant predictors of perceived pain care quality.

Assessing pain-related fear and optimizing postoperative pain control may improve nursing pain management quality.