General surgical patients’ experience of hospital discharge education: A qualitative study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore adult general surgical patients' perceptions of, and satisfaction with, discharge education provided by healthcare providers. BACKGROUND: Discharge education is essential for general surgical patients as it equips them with the required knowledge and skills to engage in their care after discharge. Insufficient knowledge to self-manage or assess their symptoms can result in postdischarge complications, unplanned hospital readmission and overall dissatisfaction with the hospital experience. DESIGN: A constructivist-interpretivist paradigm using qualitative interviews. METHODS: Telephone interviews were conducted with 13 patients between August 2018 and November 2018 and analysed using inductive content analysis. COREQ guidelines were adopted for the conduct and reporting of the study. RESULTS: Four themes were uncovered: (a) The quality of discharge information influences patients' postdischarge experience; (b) The negative impact of contextual influences on delivery of discharge education; (c) Patients actively participating in their surgical journey; (d) Patients' preferences with the delivery of discharge education. CONCLUSION: Inadequate discharge education leads to patients' inability to self-manage their recovery process. Information sharing with patients fosters shared understanding towards goals and expectations. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Understanding patients' view may inform the design of patient-centred discharge education interventions for patients to self-manage their recovery postdischarge.