L. W. Day et al. / Open Journal of Gastroenterology 3 (2013) 5-11
10
vorable experience during their previous endoscopy or
not knowing what to expect prior to a procedure makes
patients more willing to accept a specific situation; both
of which could shape this particular group of patient’s
preferences.
There were several limitations to our study. First, our
study population consisted mostly of immigrant, non-
English speaking individuals, and may not be generaliz-
able to all endoscopy center populations across the US.
Second, our survey has not been validated by previous
research, however this area of research is sparse and no
validated surv ey is currently available. Third, we subject-
tively assessed patient’s anxiety prior to their procedure
and did not correlate it with objective findings such as
vital signs or amount of sedation used during the proce-
dure. Fourth, previous studies on patient satisfaction dur-
ing surgery [20] have found that predictors of patient
satisfaction include a number of factors such as per-
ceived length of stay which we did not account for in our
study. Lastly, we did not obtain data on patient’s comor-
bidities, including anxiety disorders or patient’s taking
ant-anxiety medications, which could potentially influ-
ence patient’s preferences prior to endoscopy.
In summary, we conducted a comprehensive evalua-
tion of the pre -pr ocedure p rocess a t a l arg e, d ivers e county
hospital. The pre-procedure process is crucial at reducing
anxiety for patients, shaping the patient’s overall experi-
ence at the endoscopy center and possibly affecting fu-
ture decisions about returning or having an endoscopy.
We discovered a number of patient preferences relating
to the method of waiting before a procedure, privacy,
transport within the endo scopy center, media options and
clothing attire before the procedure. Patient race and
having had a prior procedure strongly affected these
preferences. This information will not only help endo-
scopy centers in improving efficiency and patient flow,
but when taken into consideration can lead to the crea-
tion of a more patient-centered environment.
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