Knowledge and attitude of resident doctors towards prehabilitation: An audit in a tertiary care centre

Abstract

Background: Major surgery is associated with a significant decline in the functional capacity of patients. Prehabilitation is the practice of enhancing a patient's functional capacity prior to surgery and thus improving postoperative outcomes. It is a multimodal approach, encompassing medical optimization, preoperative physical exercise, nutritional support, and stress/anxiety reduction. In this audit, we tried to find out how many resident doctors know about prehabilitation and, how they implement it in their patients in routine practice. Aims and Objectives: To study the knowledge amongst resident doctors regarding the role of prehabilitation in surgical patients; and to create awareness and implement quality practices for better post-operative outcomes. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was prepared on Google docs with multiple choice questions and circulated electronically through emails with the participants. The submitted data were updated on Google docs and analyzed subsequently. Results: One hundred and ninety resident doctors participated in the audit. One hundred seventy residents (89.7%) were aware of holistic multimodal interventions. Three- fourths of residents (150 residents; 78.95%) accurately understood the rationale behind prehabilitation. Most of the residents (183 residents; 96.84%) were aware of preoperative medical optimization. A majority (188 residents; 98.95%) were familiar with the techniques of psychological support to patients. However, the knowledge with regard to the rationale behind prehabilitation and the category of patients requiring it, baseline functional capacity assessment, techniques for exercise intensity optimization, and questions pertaining to nutrition was unsatisfactory. Conclusion: Our audit focuses on the need to enhance the knowledge of resident doctors regarding the prehabilitation program to improve post-operative outcomes in patients.