TITLE:
Lack of Consensus and Dense Content in Informational Letters on Benign Gynecological Surgery
AUTHORS:
Sofia Widetun, Margareta Nilsson, Mats Löfgren, Maria Lindqvist
KEYWORDS:
Patient Information, Gynecological Surgery, Quality Register, Qualitative, Focus Group Discussions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.8 No.14,
December
28,
2018
ABSTRACT: Objective: This study maps the contents of departmental informational letters and
explores whether the national GynOp letters live up to the patients’
expectations and needs. Introduction: Patients who are well informed
before undergoing surgery experience reduced stress and increased understanding
of the postoperative process. Although providing patients with written information
before gynecological surgery is widely used and assumed important, no study has
investigated what information patients truly need. Methods: In 2014, all
59 gynecological departments in Sweden were asked to provide the information
letter they send to patients before hysterectomy on benign indication. 32
letters were analyzed using frequency analysis. In addition, three focus groups
were conducted and these data were submitted to Qualitative Content Analysis. Results:
The analysis of the information letters showed great variation and discrepancy
in pre-operative information. The analysis of the focus groups resulted in the
theme You can’t see the forest for the
trees, reflecting that, the women found it very difficult to identify the
most important information among the massive amount information received. Conclusions:
The informational letters did not meet the patients’ expectations and needs. Practice
implications: This study could serve as a foundation for the content of
informational letters.