A Cross-Sectional Study on the Learning Needs and Satisfaction Levels of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery Patients at Discharge

Background

Research on the learning needs of patients after orthopedic and trauma surgery during the discharge process is limited, and this situation constitutes an important research gap in improving nursing practice and increasing patient satisfaction. Because when the patient's learning needs priorities are examined at discharge, it is not clear to what extent these needs have been met.

Objective

This study aims to determine the priorities in the learning needs of the patients who underwent orthopedic and trauma surgery at discharge, the level of meeting these learning needs, and the satisfaction level of the routine discharge education. Secondly, it was aimed to determine the effects of demographic and clinical characteristics on these.

Methods

The study is descriptive, correlational and cross-sectional. The sample included 184 patients. The data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the Patient Learning Needs Scale and the Discharge Education Satisfaction Scale.

Results

In this study, 36.9% of the patients' medical diagnoses were prostheses and 63.1% of them were fractures. While the patients found their learning needs at discharge ‘very important’ (190.28 ± 10.83), they rated these needs as ‘neither more or less met’. The patients reported that they cared more about information regarding treatment and complications and improving the quality of life. The patients' satisfaction level with discharge education was also determined as ‘partially satisfied’ (74.09 ± 3.83). The analysis revealed that the significance of patients' discharge learning needs and the extent to which these needs were met were influenced by factors including age, gender, education level, employment status, medical diagnosis, hospitalization history, and surgical history (p < 0.05). However, the level of satisfaction with discharge education remained unaffected by any of these variables (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

It was concluded that the priorities of discharge learning needs in patients who underwent orthopedic and trauma surgery were considered very important, but the satisfaction levels of meeting the needs and discharge education were low.