Abstract:
Background: Preoperative teaching is a process by which nurses provide standard preoperative information to
patients before surgery. It is important for surgical patients to free themselves from anxiety and post-operative
complications. Most clients want a great deal of preoperative information in order to be satisfied and feel
prepared for surgery, but its implementation particularly in developing countries is low. Therefore, this study
aimed to assess the practice and associated factors of preoperative patient teaching among nurses working at
hospitals in West Shoa zone, Ethiopia, 2022.
Objective: to assess preoperative patient teaching practice and associated factors among nurses working at
hospitals in West Shoa zone, Ethiopia, 2022.
Methods: an institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 253 nurses from September 1 to
September 30, 2022, at hospitals in the West Shoa zone. A simple random sampling technique was used to
select study participants. Data were collected using a pretested and structured self-administered questionnaire
and key informant interviews. The quantitative data were checked and entered using Epidata version 4.6 and
exported to SPSS version 26.0 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic analysis was undertaken, and p
values <0.05 at a 95% confidence interval were considered statistically significant.
Result: poor practice of nurses regarding preoperative patient teaching was 152 (60.1%) with (95% CI: 54, 66).
Lack of teaching material [AOR: 3.29, 95% CI: 1.57, 6.92], lack of training [AOR: 2.87, 95% CI: 1.65, 4.97],
workload [AOR: 8.60, 95% CI: 3.91, 19.5], time constraints [AOR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.07, 5.21], insufficient
staffing [AOR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.07, 5.21], language barrier [AOR:3.16, 95% CI:1.47,6.78], the severity of
patient cases [AOR:5.88, 95% CI: 5.88,12.7], patient and family’s anxiety [AOR: 4.18, 95% CI: 1.95, 8.92] and
Complexity of patients’ status [AOR: 4.46, 95% CI: 2.09, 9.53] were significantly associated to preoperative
patient teaching practice.
Conclusion and Recommendations: This study revealed that the majority of nurses had poor preoperative
patient teaching practices. A lack of teaching materials, a lack of training, a heavy workload, time constraints,
insufficient staffing, a language barrier, the severity of patient cases, anxiety about post-operative outcomes,
and the complexity of patients' status are all factors that have been statistically associated to preoperative patient
teaching practice. The concerned body should emphasize ways to improve preoperative teaching practice.
