Enhancing recovery in older patients undergoing abdominal surgery: Examining the effect of a preoperative preparation program using a quasi-experimental design

Background: Older adult patients often experience delayed postoperative recovery due to a
lack of self-efficacy in engaging in physical activities during early rehabilitation. Concurrently,
family caregivers play a crucial role in caring for older adults. However, the extent of family
involvement in improving self-efficacy and facilitating recovery following major abdominal
surgeries in older adults remains largely unexplored.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of a preoperative preparation program on
the recovery of older patients undergoing major abdominal surgeries.
Methods: A quasi-experimental study with a two-group, pretest-posttest design was
conducted. The participants included 60 older adult patients undergoing abdominal surgeries
at Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand, between September 2019 and March 2020.
Participants were selected by purposive sampling with the inclusion criteria and were assigned
to the experimental (n = 30) or the control (n = 30) groups using matched pair according to the
type of operation. The control group received standard care, while the intervention group
underwent a two-week preoperative preparation program developed based on self-efficacy
theory and family support. Data were collected using validated tools. Recovery was assessed
at one week and two weeks after surgery. Descriptive statistics, as well as dependent and
independent t-tests, were used for data analysis.
Results: The results revealed that the intervention group had significantly higher mean
recovery scores than the control group at one week (M = 56.93, SD = 16.42; M = 44.60, SD =
16.30, t = -2.92, df = 58, p <0.01) and two weeks after surgery (M = 66.64, SD = 8.63; M =
61.68, SD = 7.86, t = -2.33, df = 58, p <0.05) when comparing between the two groups.
Conclusion: The preoperative preparation program effectively enhanced recovery one week
and two weeks after surgery. The study findings can be valuable for nurses in implementing
the preoperative preparation program to facilitate recovery among older adult patients
undergoing abdominal surgeries.