The effect of discharge education given to patients undergoing bariatric surgery on quality of life: Aa mixed design study

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the late postoperative experiences of patients who underwent bariatric surgery and to determine the effect of the discharge education provided through an education booklet prepared for patients who underwent bariatric surgery on their quality of life. Material and Methods: The thesis was designed as a mixed design. Data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the qualitative part, semi-structured interview questions were administered to the patients. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed, themes were generated, and a discharge education booklet was prepared based on these themes. In the quantitative part, the Moorehead Ardelt Quality of Life Scale-II was administered to patients undergoing surgery 7-10 days after receiving the discharge education booklet. The collected quantitative data were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 29.0.1 software package, and the qualitative data were analyzed and evaluated together using the MQDA software program for qualitative data analysis. In the analysis of the data obtained from the study, the Mann Whitney U Test was used to compare variables that did not conform to normal distribution, and the Independent T Test was used to compare variables that conformed to normal distribution. Results: Qualitative interviews with 12 patients who had undergone bariatric surgery resulted in two main themes: preoperative and postoperative. Categories and codes were generated from these themes. A discharge education booklet was prepared using the generated codes, which addressed patient concerns about postoperative wound monitoring, pain management, postoperative fluid retention, nausea and vomiting management, dietitian nutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and emotional distress. The mean age of the 12 patients in the experimental group participating in the study was 38.7±9.6 years, while the mean age of the six patients in the control group was 36.3±17.6 years. The mean±standard deviation age of the patients participating in the study was 37.944±12.364 and the median, minimum and maximum values were 39 (18 - 62). 91.7% of the patients in the experimental group were female, while 100% of the patients in the control group were female. The mean BMI of the patients was calculated as 46.2±4.9. As a result of the application, the quality of life scores of the patients in the experimental group who received the training were found to be statistically higher than those of the patients in the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that the discharge education provided through the education booklet for patients undergoing bariatric surgery, prepared by determining the late postoperative experiences of patients undergoing bariatric surgery, had an impact on quality of life. Keywords: Obesity, Bariatric Surgery, Discharge Education, Quality of Life.