A Comparative Study of Postoperative Discomforts Experienced by Men and Women

This descriptive survey study was conducted to find out if women experienced more postoperative discomforts than men as determined by their statements on the third postoperative day. With this knowledge, the nursing care of these patients can be planned and improved. Twenty-five men and twenty-five women interviewed on their third postoperative day were asked to recall what they had experienced on the first, second, and third postoperative days. An interview guide adapted from the study conducted by Bartlett was used. The findings indicated that more women than men complained of feeling uncomfortable postoperatively. Among the physical discomforts, more women than men complained of having more incisional pain, gas pains, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, generalized dis comforts, weakness, and restlessness postoperatively. However, men complained of having more headaches and insomnia than women. There was no significant difference between the complaints of backache among men and women. The findings also indicated that women have more emotional dis comforts than men. Among the women, fear of pain ranked highest on all of the three days. Among the men, fear of pain ranked highest on the first and second day, and fear of complication ranked highest on the third day. The majority of patients considered themselves as average in their ability to stand pain. No association was found between the amount of medication received and patients\u27 stated ability to stand pain, and the degree of pain patients stated they had experienced. Incisional pain caused the most discomfort among the majority of men and women on all three days