Essential Elements of Preoperative Information as Perceived by the Nurses in Surgical Units: Scoping Review

Abstract

Context: Nurses worked as primary educators in perioperative teaching. The delivery of preoperative teaching may be affected by the nurses' perception of what information should be involved. Their perceptions possibly have a direct effect on their performance regarding the preoperative information. Understanding the nurses' point of view may help the nurses to increase their knowledge of the preoperative information details, to provide better nursing care, and to improve patient outcomes.

Aim: To identify the relevant evidence on the nurses' perceptions regarding the essential elements of preoperative information in addition to the methods of information delivery and the factors that reduce or prevent information delivery.
Methods: A scoping review method was used to allow for the mapping of the relevant evidence and the synthesis of the findings. CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PubMed databases were searched from inception until December 2019. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria with a sample size of 812 nurses involved in the review.

Results: The results indicated that Anaesthesia information (69.55%) and details about the operation (62.1%) were the most crucial preoperative information as perceived by nurses. Oral explanations were the most essential actual and preferred method of information delivery. The top barriers to providing sufficient information were time availability (64.25%), the types of questions (64.17%), and language barriers (61.75%). The review also found that the Preoperative Teaching Questionnaire (PTQ) was the most assessment instrument used to assess nurses’ perception regarding the preoperative information.

Conclusion: This scoping review has assessed the nurses' perceptions regarding the essential elements of preoperative information. Understanding nurses' view regarding preoperative information is important to determine the essential elements of preoperative teaching, ensure quality of care and better patient outcome. However, further studies are needed to assess the nurses' perception regarding essential preoperative information and to examine the different strategies and teaching modalities used to create an effective preoperative teaching program.