Patient´s experiences of postoperative information after oesophageal or gastric cancer surgery: an interview study

Objective: The aim of the study was to describe how patients who have undergone surgery due to oesophageal or gastric cancer experience the postoperative information before and after discharge from hospital.

Methods:  Eleven patients were interviewed. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and latent content analysed.

Results:  Even though the patients describe being satisfied with the care at the hospital, many patients experienced the postoperative information as partly insufficient. Postoperative information helped patients experience control in their daily life, made them feel secure in the new life situation and confident about the future. The patients described needing information from several different sources at the hospital and after discharge.

Conclusion:  Information is fundamental to enable patients to manage their new life situation. It is a challenge for health care professionals to both standardise the postoperative information and individualise the information according to the needs of each individual. Studies are needed of implementation of an information program enabling patients to feel in control, secure and confident about the future.