DESIRE FOR PERIOPERATIVE INFORMATION IN ADULT PATIENTS - A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Study Objective: To identify which perioperative information outpatien ts want from their anesthesiologist. Design: Cross-sectional study. Se tting: Outpatient center. Patients: 197 ASA physical status I and II p atients undergoing outpatient surgery. Interventions: A questionnaire examining for ''desire for information.'' Measurements and Main Result s: Demographic data including age, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic st atus, and history of previous surgery were obtained. Trait, situationa l anxiety, and coping strategy were assessed using a validated behavio ral instrument and a questionnaire adopted from previous studies condu cted in Australia, Scotland, and Canada. Each questionnaire contained 14 statements regarding specific perioperative details. An index of th e overall patient desire for information (PDI) was calculated for each subject. More than 85% of subjects gave a high priority to being info rmed for all the 14 items. Scores on the overall index were found to b e higher for females than for males (32 +/- 6 vs. 30 +/- 6; p = 0.03), and this finding persisted in a multivariable model that also include d coping strategies and anxiety (DF = 1,175, F = 4.6, p = 0.01). Subje cts also had higher PDI scores if a first degree relative had a histor y of previous surgery (33 +/- 5 vs. 31 +/- 6; p = 0.007). On analysis of individual questionnaire items, Latino Americans were significantly less likely than European Americans or African Americans to desire pe rioperative information (p < 0.05). Similarly, females had a significa ntly higher desire for information than males. Subjects who were divor ced demonstrated a higher desire for information than did single or ma rried subjects. Conclusions: Ethnicity, gender, coping mechanism, mari tal status, and a history of previous surgery in a relative have been identified as predictors for the desire for information. (C) 1997 by E lsevier Science Inc.