Learning Needs of Bariatric Surgery Patients: A Qualitative Study

Aim: This study was planned to determine the training needs that patients who experienced bariatric surgery patients should receive from health professionals. Material and Methods: The research was planned using a qualitative research methods. The study was conducted with 13 patients in a university hospital between April 2020 and July 2020. Research data was collected using a Semi-Structured Interview form and patient socio-demographic form. The data analysis method was used with MAXQDA 2020-Qualitative data Analyses program, Colaizzi's 7-step analysis process. Results: We five main themes related to the learning needs of patients who have undergone bariatric surgery were determined as; “Physiological Requirements, Psychological Requirements, Social requirements, Consulting requirements and Learning methods”. Conclusion: It was determined that the patients had the highest learning needs on postoperative nutrition, complications, surgical procedure, symptoms, daily life activities, mobilization, adapting to the social life, learning materials, to come together with the people experiencing the process of bariatric surgery, etc. in the codes and sub-codes created from the patient expressions. Patients undergoing bariatric surgery need continuous, easily accessible, applicable, and emotional support to prevent complications before and after the surgery, to make behavioral changes and prevent weight gain.