comparison of the effects of different body mechanics education

Conditions: Nursing Care; Patient Education

Summary: the study evaluated the comparison of the different patient education methods. the study involved two stages of data collection: one during the preoperative period, the other during the sixth postoperative week.

before commencing the study, we informed participants who met the inclusion criteria about the scope of the study and obtained their written and oral consent. participants in each group completed the data collection form regarding patients' characteristics, the sf-mpq, the odi and the physical functioning and bodily pain subscales of the sf-36. a day before ldh (lumbar disc hernia) surgery, participants in the control group received standard clinical education, whereas ones in the intervention groups received either video- or brochure-based education. participants in the brochure group learned about the proper use of body mechanics from the "body mechanics educational brochure for ldh patients" and demonstrations performed by primary investigator after which we answered any questions that participants asked. brochure-based education took nearly 15 min, and participants could keep the brochures after the education programme ended. by contrast, participants in the video group learned about proper use of body mechanics from the "body mechanics educational video for ldh patients" presented on a laptop, after which we also answered any questions that participants asked. video-based education took nearly 15 min, and we provided cd-rom with the video to the participants. unlike participants in the intervention groups, ones in the control group did not receive structured education. clinical nurses orally informed them about points to consider while performing activities such as standing, rising from bed and lifting. final data collection took place in the sixth postoperative week, following the statement of the american association of neuroscience nurses that pain and disability begin to decrease and that quality of life begins to increase 4-6 weeks after thoracolumbar surgery (starkweather et al., 2013). during the postoperative period, participants in all groups completed the sf-mpq, the odi and the physical functioning and bodily pain subscales of the sf-36. participants in the brochure and video groups also completed the survey addressing their satisfaction with the educational materials, whereas ones in the control group completed the survey addressing their satisfaction with the clinical education that they received. we collected data face-to-face with participants, which took approximately 20 min. participants who lived outside ankara completed the respective survey via telephone interviews, which took approximately 30 min.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * patients hospitalised in preparation to receive ldh surgery and who volunteered to participate * older than 18 years * could read and write in turkish * scored between 1 and 3 in the classification systems of the american society of anesthesiologists were preparing for their first ldh surgical operation * could use cd-based educational materials exclusion criteria: * patients hospitalised in preparation to receive ldh surgery and who unvolunteered to participate * all potential participants who had previously undergone ldh surgery * could not use cd-based educational materials or had mental disorders liable to prevent communication

Keywords: lumbar disc hernia surgery body mechanics patient education quality of life disability pain nursing