title: Social support in the post-abortion recovery room: evidence from patients, support persons and nurses in a Vancouver clinic.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The benefits of social support in post-surgical recovery are well documented; social support decreases preoperative stress and postoperative recovery time. However, a paucity of studies have examined the effect of social support in the context of pregnancy termination. This study is the first to examine the effect of postoperative accompaniment from the patient, support person and nurses' perspective.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was carried out in two phases. In Phase I, no accompaniment was allowed in the post-anesthesia recovery room (PAR); in Phase II, accompaniment was permitted. All participants completed pre- and postoperative questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The perception of accompaniment was overwhelmingly positive in patients and support people. Patients in Phase II demonstrated a high (over 95%) acceptance of accompaniment in the recovery room. It was found that 96.8% reported they would choose to be accompanied in the recovery room again if they had to have another abortion. Support persons felt very strongly that their presence was helpful to the patient. The decrease in pre- to postoperative anxiety levels was significantly greater in those women who were accompanied. However, overall, nurses demonstrated a negative attitude towards accompaniment in the recovery room.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In summary, the presence of a support person in the PAR was perceived in a positive manner by patients and support people. However, the reasoning behind the negative opinion of nurses requires further study before PAR accompaniment can be considered a possibility in the context of pregnancy termination.
authors.affiliation: Women's Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Mariana B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Veiga
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gemeinhardt
authors.forename: Edwina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Houlihan
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Fitzsimmons
authors.forename: Zoë G
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Hodgson
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001955:British Columbia; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D011247:Pregnancy; D011997:Recovery Room; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult