Abstract
Background:
The rise in obesity in the United States has led to an increase in the number of bariatric procedures performed annually to treat obesity. It has become the only treatment method that provides significant and sustained weight loss in obese patients with resultant improvement in obesity-related comorbidities. 1
Objective:
The aim of this project was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of the nurses regarding aspects of bariatric surgery at a hospital that is a Center for Excellence for bariatric surgery.
Methods:
A voluntary survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey® to assess the nurses' current knowledge of bariatric surgical procedures and attitudes toward patients undergoing bariatric surgery.
Results:
The results of the survey showed that 66.7% had no previous experience of caring for bariatric surgical patients, 3.3% did not understand gastric bypass surgery, 6.7% did not understand the sleeve, and 26.7% did not understand the duodenal switch surgery. In addition, 43.3% felt that bariatric surgery improves the quality of life for some obese patients who are compliant with diet and postoperative instructions, but 6.7% of nurses surveyed did not agree with bariatric surgery as a means for improving quality of life.
Conclusion:
Since bariatric surgery has become more popular in recent years to treat obesity, it is imperative that nurses understand the procedures and how to care for this patient population. The results of this survey were used to educate the nurses further at this facility about bariatric surgery and the duodenal switch procedure.
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