The Effect of Planned Discharge Training on Stroke Patients Satisfaction and Caregiver Preparedness: A Pre‐Test Post‐Test Study

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to determine the effects of planned hospital discharge training of stroke patients and their caregivers on patient satisfaction and caregivers’ preparedness for care. Methods: This study was conducted by using with semi-experimental method with one group pre-test post-test design was carried out in Kayseri City Hospital Neurology Clinic between February 2019 and January 2020. The research sample consisted of 58 inpatients with a diagnosis of stroke and 58 caregivers. Data were collected using a Questionnaire, which includes the descriptive characteristics of patients and caregivers, their disease and treatment characteristics, Preparedness for Caregiving Scale (PCS), Satis Stroke Questionnaire (SSQ), and Barthel Index (BI). Results: The post-discharge/post-training medians scores of PCS and SSQ was found to be statistically and significantly higher compared to their pre-discharge medians scores (p<0.05). A statistically significant positive correlation at high level was found between the median scores of PCS and SSQ (r=0.617) post-discharge and post-training (p<0.05). Conclusions: It is emphasized that health professionals, especially nurses, should carry out studies investigating the knowledge of stroke patient care and patient satisfaction, and that the lack of knowledge should be completed with in-service training. It is recommended to provide planned discharge training to ensure continuity of care and to use written training materials in these trainings, and to periodically evaluate the patient's satisfaction and caregiver's readiness for care using valid scales.