Swedish Patients' Perceptions of a Preoperative Skin Test

ABSTRACT
- PREOPERATIVE PREPARATION is an important aspect of creating a safe and pleasant hospital experience for surgical patients. Evaluating patient satisfaction, however, also depends on determining patients' perceptions of the care they receive.
- THIS STUDY used a descriptive, qualitative method with a phenomenographic approach to determine how patients perceived undergoing a preoperative skin test that was developed to ascertain what substances might result in intraoperative reactions in patients with allergies, asthma, or eczema.
- OVERALL, the patients had positive perceptions of the skin test; however, the results indicate a need for improved and individualized preoperative instruction that focuses on patients from a holistic perspective. AORN J 81 (March 2005) 531-552.