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Information needs and engagement profiles of adults undergoing ambulatory surgery: a qualitative study
Wen Qin1, Qin Zhu1, Yang Shen1,2
1Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, No 20 Xisi Road, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226001, PR China.
Background:
Ambulatory surgery compresses preparation, treatment and discharge into a short period, followed by recovery at home. Information support must address emotional concerns, information preferences and ways of engaging with care. Although unmet information needs have been described, less is known about how these needs form recognisable engagement profiles.
Objective:
To explore adult patients' information needs across the ambulatory surgery pathway and develop empirically informed engagement profiles to guide future personalised information support, this qualitative descriptive study recruited thirty-three adult patients through purposive maximum-variation sampling at an ambulatory surgery centre at a tertiary hospital in Eastern China from October to December 2025; nine caregivers of children interviewed in the original study were excluded from this analysis.
Methods:
Individual semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis identified information domains, followed by cross-case synthesis to construct exploratory engagement profiles from adult patient accounts.
Results:
Six domains concerned disease and diagnosis, surgical procedures, anaesthesia, post-discharge care and follow-up, psychosocial and practical support, and information delivery preferences. Four non-exclusive profiles were constructed: Anxious Proceduralist, Guidance-Seeking User, Collaborative Learner and Pragmatic Self-Manager. These profiles describe differing preferences for procedural detail, clear guidance, dialogue and practical recovery support.
Conclusions:
Similar information needs may be organised through different ways of engaging with care. The profiles offer preliminary, hypothesis-generating design tools for personalised information support. Refinement, item development, co-design and feasibility testing are required before clinical use. The findings concern adult patients and cannot be transferred directly to caregivers of children.
Registration:
Not registered.
