Assessment of patients’ psychosocial needs by surgeons

Aim: This study was conducted to identify the views of surgeons regarding the assessment of patients’ psychosocial needs and howthese needs were addressed.Material and Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used in the study. The views of fifteen surgeons working in the surgeryclinics of a research hospital in Turkey were evaluated with a qualitative pattern by using semi-structured questions.Results: Data analysis of individual interviews revealed two main themes: (1) Psychosocial needs are important, (2) Psychosocialneeds should be met. It was emphasized the importance of assessing patients’ psychosocial needs. The surgeons pointed outusing various methods to meet the psychosocial needs of their patients. They listened to the patients and tried to understand andempathize with them regarding their present psychosocial problems.Conclusion: The results of the study are remarkable for their emphasis on the importance of the assessment of patients’ psychosocialneeds from the surgeons’ point of view. If the psychosocial needs of surgical patients are assessed, anxiety and depression may beprevented. Furthermore, such an assessment could help patients’ pre- and post-surgery adjustment, thus exerting a positive effecton patient recovery.

PDF

___

1. Gorman LM, Sultan DF. Psychosocial nursing for general patient care. F. A. Davis Company. Philadelphia; 2008.
2. Alacadag M, Cilingir D. Presurgery anxiety and day surgery patients’ need for information. J Peri Anesth Nurs 2018;33:658-68.
3. Bäckström S, Wynn R, Sørlie T. Coronary bypass surgery patients’ experiences with treatment and perioperative care–a qualitative interview-based study. J Nurs Manag 2006;14:140-47.
4. Gao FJ, Yao KP, Tsai CS, et al. Predictors of health care needs in discharged patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Heart Lung 2009;38:182-91.
5. Steinhausen S, Ommen O, Thüm S, et al. Physician empathy and subjective evaluation of medical treatment outcome in trauma surgery patients. Patient Educ Couns 2014;95:53- 60.
6. Maillard J, Elia N, Haller CS, et al. Preoperative and early postoperative quality of life after major surgery-a prospective observational study. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2015;13:12.
7. Poole L, Leigh E, Kidd T, et al. The combined association of depression and socioeconomic status with length of postoperative hospital stay following coronary artery bypass graft surgery: data from a prospective cohort study. J Psychosom Res 2014;76:34-40.
8. Basak F, Hasbahceci M, Guner S, et al. Prediction of anxiety and depression in general surgery inpatients: a prospective cohort study of 200 consecutive patients. Int J Surg 2015;23:18-22.
9. Charmandari E, Tsigos C, Chrousos G. Endocrinology of the stress response. Annu Rev Physiol 2005;67:259-84.
10. Walburn J, Vedhara K, Hankins M, et al. Psychological stress and wound healing in humans: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Psychosom Res 2009;67:253-71.
11. Antoni MH. Psychosocial intervention effects on adaptation, disease course and biobehavioral processes in cancer. Brain Behav Immun 2013;30:S88-98.
12. Moore G, Collins A, Brand C, et al. Palliative and supportive care needs of patients with high-grade glioma and their carers: a systematic review of qualitative literature. Patient Educ Couns 2013;91:141-53.
13. Theobald K, Worrall-Carter L, McMurray A. Psychosocial issues facilitating recovery post-CABG surgery. Aust Crit Care 2005;18:76-85.
14. Davis Y, Perham M, Hurd AM, et al. Patient and family member needs during the perioperative period. J Perianesth Nurs 2014;29:119-28.
15. Yim PWC, Wang W, Jiang Y, et al. Health-related quality of life, psychological well-being, and sexual function in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia after prostatic surgery. Appl Nurs Res 2015;28:274-80.
16. Mayer K, Junge N, Goldschmidt I, et al. Psychosocial outcome and resilience after paediatric liver transplantation in young adults. Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol 2019;43:155-60.
17. Kazzazi F, Haggie R, Forouhi P, et al. A comparison of patient satisfaction (using the BREAST-Q questionnaire) with bilateral breast reconstruction following risk-reducing or therapeutic mastectomy. J Plast Reconstr Aesthetic Surg 2018;71:1324-31.
18. Colaizzi P. Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In R. Valle & M. King Eds. Existential phenomenological alternative for psychology. New York: Oxford University Press; 1978. p. 48-71.
19. Grover S, Sarkar S. Liver transplant—psychiatric and psychosocial aspects. J Clin Exp Hepatol 2012;2:382-92.
20. Alonso NB, Mazetto L, de Araújo Filho, GM, et al. Psychosocial factors associated with in postsurgical prognosis of temporal lobe epilepsy related to hippocampal sclerosis. Epilepsy Behav 2015;53:66-72.
21. Tsuchiya M, Takahashi M. Psychosocial impact of lymphoedema after breast surgery. Current Breast Cancer Reports 2016;8:47-51.
22. Lee MS, Nelson AM, Thompson LMA, et al. Supportive care needs of oral cancer survivors: prevalence and correlates. Oral Oncol 2016;53:85-90.
23. Faller H, Weis J, Koch U, et al. Perceived need for psychosocial support depending on emotional distress and mental comorbidity in men and women with cancer. J Psychosom Res 2016;81:24-30.
24. Nikolić J, Janjić Z, Marinković M, et al. Psychosocial characteristics and motivational factors in woman seeking cosmetic breast augmentation surgery. Vojnosanit Pregl 2013;70:940-46.
25. McCabe C. Nurse–patient communication: an exploration of patients’ experiences. J Clin Nurs 2004;13:41-9.
26. Mercer SW, Reynolds WJ. Empathy and quality of care. Br J Gen Pract 2002;52:9-12.
27. Butalid L, Bensing JM, Verhaak PF. Talking about psychosocial problems: an observational study on changes in doctor–patient communication in general practice between 1977 and 2008. Patient Educ Couns 2014;94:314- 21.
28. Sánchez R, Baillès E, Peri JM, et al. Assessment of psychosocial factors and predictors of psychopathology in a sample of heart transplantation recipients: a prospective 12-month follow-up. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2016;38:59-64.