Effects of Promoting Patients' Participation in Self-Care on Postoperative Recovery and Satisfaction with Care

Abstract

The effectiveness of patients' participation in self-care aimed at expediting the rate of recovery from surgery and increasing satisfaction with care received was tested with adult patients undergoing pyelolithotomy and nephrolithotomy. Forty subjects participating in the study were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). Patients in the experimental group participated in their self-care through nurse-patient interaction in addition to the usual care received in the setting. Results of the study indicated that patients in the experimental group had significantly less pain sensation and distress, used fewer analgesics, ambulated more, had fewer complications, and had higher satisfaction with care than patients in the control group. Since the experimental intervention was based on Orem's and King's theories, these findings support the value of application of these two nursing theories in practice.

Keywords

Orem's Theory King's Theory Self-care Nurse-patient interaction

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