Recovering from day surgery: Experiences of people living alone
Wijerama, Pia (2025)
2025
Master's Programme in Public and Global Health
Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-04-17
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202504173800
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202504173800
Tiivistelmä
An increasing share of surgical activity is organized as day surgery. One of the features of day surgery is the rapid transfer of care from surgery units to independent self-care carried out by patients themselves. Patients’ readiness for recovery at home requires resources, which may not be available for people who live alone. The consideration of people living alone has particular significance as the number of single-person households is rising. Day surgery recovery of people living alone has not been systematically or separately studied previously. The overall aim of this study was to fill the knowledge gap on the recovery processes of day surgery patients who live alone.
A qualitative approach was chosen to document and comprehensively describe the experiences of people living alone recovering from day surgical procedures. The two-part data collection included patient information leaflets provided to patients by the hospital before surgery and personal experiences of patients living alone who had undergone day surgery. An open writing invitation was used to collect personally documented experiences, which offered a unique perspective to understanding what is being seen, felt and experienced by participants.
The overview of the patient leaflets demonstrated that there is a lack in identifying issues such as living conditions as potential determinants of recovery among day surgery patients. Moreover, the identification of people living alone as a vulnerable group in the day surgery setting was poor. Analysis of the personal experiences resulted in three main themes: The emotional burden of recovery, Coping with the physical and practical challenges of recovery and A wider need for recognition, understanding and support. The last theme was divided into two sub-themes: “Minor operation, major recovery” and “The enigmatic someone”.
The themes reflect the complex interplay of emotional, physical, and practical challenges faced by individuals living alone when recovering from day surgical procedures. Although the surgical intervention may be categorized as minor, day surgery can have a major impact on daily living. People who live alone demonstrated resilience and resourcefulness in their ability to reorganize and reassemble after the disruption in their lives and everyday routines caused by day surgery. However, demonstration of autonomy and high levels of self-dependency did not negate the need for emotional support and practical help.
Based on previous research and the findings of this study, it is necessary to evaluate and measure the patient experience of day surgery recovery as the number of day surgical procedures is expected to continue rising. Understanding the recovery processes for different patient groups is imperative to ensure quality of care as well as equal health outcomes and identification of vulnerable groups is particularly crucial in care planning. Most importantly, results of this study suggest that living alone should be considered as one of the determinants of postoperative recovery in day surgery procedures.
A qualitative approach was chosen to document and comprehensively describe the experiences of people living alone recovering from day surgical procedures. The two-part data collection included patient information leaflets provided to patients by the hospital before surgery and personal experiences of patients living alone who had undergone day surgery. An open writing invitation was used to collect personally documented experiences, which offered a unique perspective to understanding what is being seen, felt and experienced by participants.
The overview of the patient leaflets demonstrated that there is a lack in identifying issues such as living conditions as potential determinants of recovery among day surgery patients. Moreover, the identification of people living alone as a vulnerable group in the day surgery setting was poor. Analysis of the personal experiences resulted in three main themes: The emotional burden of recovery, Coping with the physical and practical challenges of recovery and A wider need for recognition, understanding and support. The last theme was divided into two sub-themes: “Minor operation, major recovery” and “The enigmatic someone”.
The themes reflect the complex interplay of emotional, physical, and practical challenges faced by individuals living alone when recovering from day surgical procedures. Although the surgical intervention may be categorized as minor, day surgery can have a major impact on daily living. People who live alone demonstrated resilience and resourcefulness in their ability to reorganize and reassemble after the disruption in their lives and everyday routines caused by day surgery. However, demonstration of autonomy and high levels of self-dependency did not negate the need for emotional support and practical help.
Based on previous research and the findings of this study, it is necessary to evaluate and measure the patient experience of day surgery recovery as the number of day surgical procedures is expected to continue rising. Understanding the recovery processes for different patient groups is imperative to ensure quality of care as well as equal health outcomes and identification of vulnerable groups is particularly crucial in care planning. Most importantly, results of this study suggest that living alone should be considered as one of the determinants of postoperative recovery in day surgery procedures.