Examining the Relationship Between Perceived Readiness for Hospital Discharge and Quality of Perioperative Nursing Care in Ambulatory Surgery Patients

Objective: Quality monitoring is a necessity in ambulatory surgery and is increasingly common. Since nurses are the health professionals that patients encounter most during the short time they spend in the hospital, the effect of their quality of care on patient outcomes should be determined. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between ambulatory surgery patients' perceptions of readiness for discharge and the quality of perioperative nursing care. Methods: This descriptive and correlational study included 124 patients who underwent ambulatory surgery at a training and research hospital in & Idot;stanbul between October 2023 and March 2024. Data were collected using the Good Perioperative Nursing Care scale (GPNCS) and Readiness for Hospital Discharge scale (RHDS) before patients were discharged. Results: The mean age of the patients in the study was 43.14 +/- 15.88 years, of which 56.5% were male and 62.1% were married. The mean total GPNCS and RHDS scores of the patients were 117.48 +/- 20.79 and 7.26 +/- 1.48, respectively. It was determined that 50.8% of the patients were not ready for discharge, and there was a significant relationship between not being ready for discharge and the adequacy of discharge education. A statistically significant, positive, and moderate relationship was found between the GPNCS and RHDS total score averages (r=0.633, p<0.001). Conclusion: Findings showed that patients after ambulatory surgery, and the quality of perioperative nursing care affected the perception of readiness for discharge. In this regard, to facilitate patient recovery, nurses should plan appropriate interventions to improve the quality of perioperative care.