© 2020 JETIR April 2020, Volume 7, Issue 4 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162)
JETIR2004102 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 782
A Study To Assess The Effectiveness Of Nurse
Navigation Programme For Patients Undergoing Open
Abdominal Surgery In Tertiary Care Hospitals Of Delhi
- Pilot Study
Feba Geevarghese
1
, Dr. Manju Chhugani
2
, Dr. Sudhir Joseph
3
1- Ph. D. Nursing Scholar, Jamia Hamdard, 2- Supervisor (Dean, School of Nursing Sciences and
Allied Health, Jamia Hamdard), 3- Co- Supervisor (Director, St. Stephen’s Hospital)
ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of nurse navigation programme for patients undergoing open abdominal
surgery in tertiary care hospitals of Delhi.
Methods: A pilot study was conducted from Oct- Nov 2019 on 60 surgical patients according to the inclusion
criteria in two tertiary care hospitals of Delhi. With the help of Non- Equivalent Control Groups Design, using
purposive sampling technique the patients were equally divided into experimental group (n=30) and control group
(n=30). The subjects of experimental group were administered nurse navigation programme by the researcher
and they were provided education and counselling pre and post- operatively with the help of information booklet
and video- assisted instruction developed by the researcher. The subjects of control group received routine care
according to the hospital protocol. Standardised Numeric Pain Rating scale and self-developed structured tools
such as Exercise Checklist, Comfort Checklist, Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire were utilized to collect data
from patients for measuring the post- operative outcomes. The effectiveness of the nurse navigation programme
was checked with regard to these post- operative parameters and patient self- care activities.
Results: The obtained mean difference of pain scores between subjects of control and experimental groups from
POD 1 to 5 was found to be statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance (‘t’ value = 9.5, 9.66, 9.57, 8.73,
5.28) with the experimental group patients having better pain control. The obtained mean difference of exercise
scores between subjects of control and experimental groups from POD 0 to 3 & 5 was found to be statistically
significant at 0.05 level of significance (‘t’ value=16.25, 14.88, 10.06, 7.37, 1.53) with subjects of experimental
group having better scores in the ability to perform exercise as compared to control group. The obtained mean
difference of comfort scores between subjects of control and experimental groups on POD 1, 3, 5 was found to
be statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance (‘t’ value= 17.42, 8.9, 4.45) with better comfort levels
among experimental group patients. The obtained mean difference of post- operative patient satisfaction scores
between subjects of control and experimental groups was found to be statistically significant at 0.05 level of
significance (‘t’ value= 24.8) and the subjects of experimental group were more satisfied in comparison to the
control group.
Conclusion: It was concluded that the nurse navigation programme is effective for patients undergoing open
abdominal surgery.
Key Words: Nurse navigation programme, open abdominal surgery, education, information booklet, video-
assisted instruction, post- operative outcomes, patient satisfaction.
INTRODUCTION
The concept of patient navigation was originally created
1
in 1990 at the Harlem Hospital Center in New York
City as a strategy to assist vulnerable population with timely access to breast oncology services. Since the mid-
1990s, navigation programs have expanded to include many patient populations for specialized management and
immediate access to health resources. Whether it is patient or nurse navigation, services are often managed by
nurses and are widely recognized as proactive mechanisms to ensure continuity of care; alleviation of
psychosocial concerns like fear, anxiety and accessibility to screening programs and other services. Nurse
navigator systems have been successfully implemented to improve the care and management of specific patient
groups such as those with HIV, Diabetes and cardiovascular disease for educating and empowering patients for
self care.