Postoperative nursing care contributions to symptom distress and functional status after ambulatory surgery

The relationship of postoperative patient-perceived nurse caring behaviors to symptom distress and functional status in 100 adult ambulatory surgical patients was examined. These behaviors explained 9.3% to 18.2% of the variance in functional status on the 1st, 4th, and 7th day postsurgery, and 10% of the variance in symptom distress on the 7th postoperative day after controlling for ASA physical status classification, preoperative symptom distress, and preoperative functional status.