Experiences of patients undergoing general surgery in Somalia: a qualitative study
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Elif Gezginci Akpinar1, Samira Hassan Mohamed2, Hasan Huseyin Eker3
1Department of Surgical Nursing, Hamidiye Faculty of Nursing, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Türkiye. elif.gezginci@sbu.edu.tr.
Background:
This study aimed to investigate patients' experiences undergoing general surgery in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Methods:
This descriptive phenomenological study, using Colaizzi's method, was conducted with 30 patients undergoing surgery in the department of general surgery of a training and research hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia. Data were collected between November 2021 and January 2022 through face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenological method.
Results:
Three main themes were identified: (1) emotional distress, (2) religious coping, and (3) focus on recovery. These themes included seven sub-themes: fear of death, feeling lonely, feeling the unknown; turning to God, surrender to God; relief from pain, and feeling happy. Participants also reported insufficient preoperative information and a need for psychological support. Many participants relied on religious beliefs and spiritual meaning-making to cope with uncertainty throughout the perioperative experience.
Conclusions:
Patients undergoing general surgery in Somalia experienced considerable emotional distress while actively constructing hope and meaning through religious beliefs during the perioperative period. The findings highlight the need for structured patient education, integrated psychological support, and culturally sensitive perioperative care.
