ABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to assess patients' knowledge and perceptions, fears and concerns regarding perioperative management. 300 patients were interviewed consecutively and a questionnaire was completed for each patient. 25admitted to having anxiety about their upcoming operation. The prevalence of preoperative fear was significantly higher in younger patients (age < 40 years, p < 0.05) and in more educated patients (secondary and tertiary levels, p < 0.001). The commonest fears were those of a morbid nature (e.g. death on the operating table). 34of the patients did not realize that anaesthetists were qualified doctors, and only 10recognized the central role played by anaesthetists in the monitoring of vital signs throughout an operation. There is continuing need for public education on the role of the anaesthetists in health care, and anaesthetists must ensure that preoperative concerns of their patients are adequately addressed.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Anesthesia/psychology , Surgical Procedures, Operative/psychology , Anxiety , Educational Status , Jamaica , FearABSTRACT
Examines two methods of transport:air and surface
Subject(s)
Humans , Burn Units , Burns , JamaicaABSTRACT
a search of the newspapers between 1840 and 1850 revealed that the first experiences with ether anaesthesia were reported in Jamaica less than three months after its first reported use in Great Britain and two months before its first use in Australia. A variety of apparatuses were and usedeffectively. Newspapers of an era can provide a wealth of information on such momentous events as the introduction of anaesthesia to countries. Hospital records are aften incomplete or may not be available for that period. However most libraries or newspaper publishers maintain a complete record of their issues on microfilm. Related to this is the fact that the first experiences with ether anesthesia often occurred outside hospitals, for example, in a doctor's house or office, and as such were likely to be carried as news items and not record in hospital records