Effect of telephone-based support education (telenursing) provided after lumbar disc herniation surgery on postoperative pain management and functional disability

Title: Effect of telephone-based support education (telenursing) provided after lumbar disc herniation surgery on postoperative pain management and functional disability. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of telephone-based support education (telenursing) provided after lumbar disc herniation surgery on postoperative pain management and functional disability. Method: This research is a single-center pretest-posttest control group randomized controlled experimental study. The sample of the study consisted of 80 patients, consisting of a simple randomly selected experimental (n: 40) and control (n: 40) group. In collecting the data; "Personal Information Form", "Telephone Interview Follow-up Form", "Visual Analog Scale (VAS)", "Pain Coping Inventory (ABE)", "Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire (ODI)" were used. Both groups of patients were given face-to-face practical discharge education accompanied by the "Home Care and Follow-up Guide after Lumbar Disc Herniation Surgery" before the surgery. The experimental group patients were given education and counseling services via telephone calls at 4-week intervals after discharge. At the end of the 6th week, the scales were re-applied to both groups and the data were collected. Results: In the evaluation of the data, Independent Groups T Test, Chi-Square, Dependent Groups T Test, Pearson Correlation Analysis and Two-Way Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance tests were used. It was determined that the post-test VAS and ODI mean scores of the experimental group that received telephone-based support education were lower than the control group, and the post-test ABE active coping and sub-dimensions mean scores were higher. This difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that patients who underwent surgery due to LDH and were provided with telephone-based postoperative support education managed their pain better, perceived less pain, and therefore had lower functional disabilities than patients who were followed up with only preoperative discharge education. In line with these results, it is recommended that telephone-based education and counseling services for the rehabilitation of patients after surgery be expanded.