Investigation of the Readiness for Discharge and Learning Needs of Patients Undergoing Surgery

Articles > Article · 2026

Authors: Burçak Şahin Köze, Rabia Çayır, Eda Dolgun, Yelda Candan Dönmez, Esma ÖZŞAKER

Ege Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Fakültesi Dergisi, International Refereed University Journal, International, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature CINAHL, 2026, vol 42, pp 275-285

DOI: 10.53490/egehemsire.1838863

Summary

<p>Objective:&nbsp;This&nbsp;study&nbsp;aimed&nbsp;to&nbsp;assess&nbsp;the&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;readiness&nbsp;and&nbsp;learning&nbsp;needs&nbsp;of&nbsp;surgical</p><p>patients&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;examine&nbsp;the&nbsp;relationship&nbsp;between&nbsp;these&nbsp;variables.</p><p>Methods:&nbsp;This&nbsp;descriptive,&nbsp;cross-sectional&nbsp;study&nbsp;was&nbsp;conducted&nbsp;with&nbsp;116&nbsp;patients&nbsp;who&nbsp;underwent</p><p>surgery&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;general&nbsp;surgery&nbsp;clinic&nbsp;of&nbsp;a&nbsp;university&nbsp;hospital&nbsp;between&nbsp;April&nbsp;and&nbsp;December&nbsp;2023.</p><p>Data&nbsp;were&nbsp;collected&nbsp;using&nbsp;the&nbsp;Patient&nbsp;Introduction&nbsp;Form,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Patient&nbsp;Learning&nbsp;Needs&nbsp;Scale&nbsp;(PLNS),</p><p>and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Readiness&nbsp;for&nbsp;Hospital&nbsp;Discharge&nbsp;Scale&nbsp;(RHDS).&nbsp;Statistical&nbsp;analyses&nbsp;were&nbsp;performed&nbsp;using</p><p>descriptive&nbsp;statistics,&nbsp;independent&nbsp;sample&nbsp;t-test,&nbsp;Mann-Whitney&nbsp;U&nbsp;test,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Kruskal-Wallis&nbsp;test.</p><p>Ethical&nbsp;approval&nbsp;was&nbsp;obtained&nbsp;from&nbsp;the&nbsp;Medical&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Ethics&nbsp;Committee&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;university</p><p>hospital,&nbsp;and&nbsp;written&nbsp;consent&nbsp;was&nbsp;obtained&nbsp;from&nbsp;all&nbsp;participants&nbsp;prior&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;study.</p><p>Results:&nbsp;The&nbsp;mean&nbsp;total&nbsp;score&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;PLNS&nbsp;was&nbsp;225.38±29.42,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;mean&nbsp;score&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;patients&#39;</p><p>satisfaction&nbsp;was&nbsp;188.85±52.56.&nbsp;The&nbsp;mean&nbsp;total&nbsp;RHDS&nbsp;score&nbsp;was&nbsp;7.50&nbsp;±&nbsp;1.70.&nbsp;A&nbsp;statistically</p><p>significant&nbsp;moderate&nbsp;positive&nbsp;correlation&nbsp;was&nbsp;found&nbsp;between&nbsp;the&nbsp;two&nbsp;scales&nbsp;(r:&nbsp;0.447,&nbsp;p&lt;0.001).</p><p>Statistically&nbsp;significant&nbsp;differences&nbsp;was&nbsp;found&nbsp;between&nbsp;the&nbsp;RHDS&nbsp;scores&nbsp;according&nbsp;to&nbsp;gender,</p><p>status&nbsp;of&nbsp;receiving&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;education&nbsp;and&nbsp;finding&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;education&nbsp;adequate&nbsp;(p&lt;0.05).&nbsp;Male</p><p>patients,&nbsp;those&nbsp;who&nbsp;received&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;education,&nbsp;and&nbsp;those&nbsp;who&nbsp;perceived&nbsp;the&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;education</p><p>as&nbsp;adequate&nbsp;had&nbsp;significantly&nbsp;higher&nbsp;RHDS&nbsp;scores.</p><p>Conclusion:&nbsp;The&nbsp;study&nbsp;found&nbsp;that&nbsp;patients&nbsp;had&nbsp;high&nbsp;learning&nbsp;needs,&nbsp;which&nbsp;were&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;met,&nbsp;while</p><p>their&nbsp;readiness&nbsp;for&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;was&nbsp;at&nbsp;a&nbsp;moderate&nbsp;level.&nbsp;As&nbsp;their&nbsp;learning&nbsp;needs&nbsp;were&nbsp;addressed,&nbsp;their</p><p>readiness&nbsp;for&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;improved.&nbsp;These&nbsp;results&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;the&nbsp;importance&nbsp;of&nbsp;personalized&nbsp;education</p><p>in&nbsp;enhancing&nbsp;patients’&nbsp;confidence&nbsp;and&nbsp;preparedness&nbsp;for&nbsp;discharge.&nbsp;The&nbsp;findings&nbsp;indicate&nbsp;that</p><p>discharge&nbsp;education&nbsp;tailored&nbsp;to&nbsp;individual&nbsp;learning&nbsp;needs&nbsp;is&nbsp;associated&nbsp;with&nbsp;higher&nbsp;levels&nbsp;of</p><p>discharge&nbsp;readiness.&nbsp;It&nbsp;is&nbsp;recommended&nbsp;that&nbsp;planned&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;education&nbsp;be&nbsp;provided&nbsp;to&nbsp;surgical</p><p>patients&nbsp;in&nbsp;clinical&nbsp;settings,&nbsp;considering&nbsp;their&nbsp;individual&nbsp;characteristics,&nbsp;and&nbsp;that&nbsp;its&nbsp;effectiveness</p><p>be&nbsp;evaluated.</p>

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