Enhancing Preoperative Patient Understanding and Nurse-Led Communication Using 3D-Printed Surgical Models: A Multimodal Study in the Surgical Departments of Saidu Teaching Hospital, Swat.

Abstract

Background: Patient education before surgery proves vital because it helps patients grasp their condition better and lowers their anxiety and delivers better satisfaction results. Patients find insufficient understanding when they rely on traditional methods which include verbal explanations together with simple 2D images. Staff nurses work with 3D-printed surgical models to teach preoperative patients better in low-resource healthcare facilities.
Aim: This research evaluates how 3d-printed anatomical models assist nurses in delivering preoperative education to evaluate patient comprehension, minimize anxiety, and boost patient satisfaction in surgical departments.
Methods: Sixty elective surgical patients underwent research at Saidu Teaching Hospital, Swat, Pakistan, with thirty patients in the intervention group and thirty patients in the control group. Preoperative patient counseling included patient-specific 3D-printed model demonstrations for the intervention group but the control patients received standard education methods. The research relied on comprehension questionnaires together with APAIS (anxiety scale) measurements and a satisfaction rating assessment tool for data collection. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with both 10 patients and 10 nurses, producing qualitative data.
Results: The participants who received patient-specific 3D-printed models experienced better understanding results (mean +8.3, p < 0.001) as well as reduced anxiety scores (mean -7.7, p < 0.001) compared to standard education model patients. Patients in the intervention group demonstrated superior levels of satisfaction, since 73% of them expressed very high satisfaction. The analysis yielded four main themes, which included patients getting better comprehension alongside better emotional reassurance and improved communication methods. The nurses articulated their training needs as another significant theme.
Conclusion: Through the use of 3d-printed surgical models, nurses achieve better patient understanding while simultaneously reducing patient anxiety and improving their educational satisfaction. Resource-limited healthcare facilities can implement 3D-printed surgical models that create positive impacts through their deploy ability.