The immediate and short-term effects of an educational program for post radical hysterectomy self-care of the lower urinary tract.
BACKGROUND
Cervical cancer has recently become one of the major malignancies of women in Taiwan. Patients receive radical hysterectomy as a first step in treatment. Urinary tract infection is a potential complication after surgery. To enhance the knowledge and Foley catheter self-care ability are major tasks that patients need to learn during hospitalization. Therefore, the impact of an educational program is evaluated.


METHODS
A post-test only design with nonequivalent groups was selected to conduct the present study. Patients who had radical hysterectomy were distributed into an experimental group (N = 11; taught by the head nurse with extra written material) and a control group (N = 9; taught by nurses in sequence). Knowledge level, home performance, and laboratory data (urinalysis and urine culture) were selected as indicators for evaluation. Non-parametric statistics such as Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were performed to verify the impact of this educational program.


RESULTS
In regard to the immediate effects, the experimental group reported a higher level of knowledge than the control group during the first assessment. However, after clarification by the head nurse in a discharge interview, this difference disappeared in the second assessment 2 weeks later (short-term effects). Nevertheless, no significant difference was found either in the performance at home, urinalysis, or urine culture.


CONCLUSIONS
Different position of the nurses and additional written material had an impact on the knowledge level of patients. However, no significant differences were found within the subjective and objective indicators.
Liu
H E
HE
School of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C. sarah@mail.cgu.edu.tw
Ya
S F
SF
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012648:Self Care; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*