the perspectivepatient’s

dressings to use at home (47.8%), and when and how to remove stitches/tape/ staples/steri-strips (44.0%).

Patients’ experiences and preferences differed; 94.8% patients wanted verbal instructions and 84.4% experienced this. 66.2% of patients wanted printed materials (e.g. information sheets), 44.4% patients experienced this. There was some interest for online education, despite only one patient experiencing this.

We found positive associations between patient participation and patients’ ability to manage their wounds at home. When staff had conversations about woundrelated pain management options, patients were four times more likely to manage their surgical wounds at home.

When patients felt involved in decisions about wound care, patients were six times more likely to manage their surgical wounds at home.

We found that providing patients with specific surgical wound care information (e.g., incision care dressings etc.), and providing both written and verbal education, could be areas for improvement.

Importantly, patients who feel more involved in wound conversations while in hospital, may manage better at home. This could be key to reducing postoperative complications.

BY G. TOBIANO, R.M. WALKER, W. CHABOYER, J. CARLINI, L. WEBBER, S. LATIMER, E. KANG, A. M. ESKES, T. O’CONNOR, D. PERGER & B. M. GILLESPIE.

C P D

1. What types of activities/ strategies would help you feel confident giving patients specific information (e.g., how to clean, dressings) about managing their surgical wound once home?

2. Giving patients both written and verbal education enhances their recall. What existing resources (e.g. print outs) do you currently have available to provide patients with surgical wound discharge education?

3. In hospital, how could you make patients feel more involved in conversations about their surgical wound care?

Don’t forget to make note of your reflections for your record of CPD at www.qnmu.org.au/CPD

References

Fredericks, S., Guruge S., Sidani S., Wan, T. (2010). Postoperative patient education: a systematic review. Clin Nurs Res, 19(2), 144-164.

Kassin, M.T., Owen, R.M., Perez, S.D., et al. (2012). Risk factors for 30-day hospital readmission among general surgery patients. J Am Coll Surg, 215(3), 322- 330. Rushton, M., Howarth, M., Grant, M.J., Astin, F. (2017). Person-centred discharge education following coronary artery bypass graft: a critical review. J Clin Nurs, 26(23–24), 5206- 5215.