The Effectiveness of the Enhanced Recovery after Cesarean Surgery (ERACS) method on patients’ pain levels and satisfaction in hospitals: a quasi-experimental posttest design

Abstract

Enhanced Recovery after Cesarean Surgery (ERACS) is an evidence-based, interdisciplinary method used before, during, and after surgery. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of ERACS on patients’ pain levels and satisfaction during their hospital stay. This research is expected to be a consideration for the development of hospital midwifery services in the future. This study adopted quantitative research methodology with a quasi-experimental posttest design only approach. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. There were two types of subject criteria: the intervention group with ERACS and control groups of mothers who had conventional Cesarean sections (C-sections). A total of 140 respondents were divided into the control and experimental groups, with 70 respondents each. Pain levels were measured using the visual analog scale (VAS). Patient satisfaction data were collected using a pretested questionnaire and analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 22 statistics. There was a significant difference between pain levels at rest 24 h after C-section (p < 0.001) and at movement 24 h post-C-section (p < 0.001) in the control group compared to the experimental group. The ERACS method has been shown to be effective in reducing pain levels at rest and at movement in patients 24 h after C-section (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between ERACS and non-ERACS patient satisfaction, but the customer satisfaction index (CSI) indicated that the patients were very satisfied. The ERACS method has been shown to be effective in reducing pain levels in C-section patients. This study also proved that the ERACS patients were very satisfied, based on the CSI results. Therefore, the ERACS method must be used and improved to enhance hospital midwifery services.