Abstract
Background and aimDespite big leaps of progress in its scope, the practice of anesthesia is still suffering from poor public image, especially in developing countries. Little research investigated the public awareness of anesthesia in the Middle East. This study aimed to examine the perception of the practice of anaesthesia among Jordanian patients.MethodsA standard questionnaire with 29 questions was administered through personal interview to consenting patients. Questions tested patients’ correct knowledge of the identity of anesthetists, their roles and scope of their practice. Awareness was measured using the frequency of correct answers to each survey question. A total awareness score was calculated as the percentage ratio of the number of correct answers to the total number of questions. We classified this score into: Poor< 50%. Moderate 50–75%, and Good > 75% to reflect patient’s overall perception of anesthetists and their roles. Effects of demographic variables on results were also investigated. Appropriate statistical tests were used to summarize and compare results. A total of 513 patients admitted for elective surgery were sequentially approached for enrolment.ResultsFive hundred and five patients were enrolled. Most patients identified anesthesia as a separate practice from surgery (86%). The anaesthetist was identified as a physician by only 37% of patients. Equal importance to both anaesthetists and surgeons was assumed by 71.5% of patents. Only 15% of patients showed good level of total knowledge of anaesthetist roles, while 51% scored poorly. Highest awareness was of anaesthetist’s preoperative roles (65.1%). Age was the only demographic factor affecting studied awareness (P = 0.009).ConclusionAlthough the importance of anesthetist is well perceived among Jordanian patients, there is still some ignorance in their knowledge of the details of anesthesia practice. Active communication efforts and patient education by anesthetists are needed to improve the public status of the specialty.
Highlights
Background and aimDespite big leaps of progress in its scope, the practice of anesthesia is still suffering from poor public image, especially in developing countries
Questionnaire After a review of previous similar literature, a questionnaire with a total of 29 questions was developed and structured by the first two authors to cover the intended study objectives. It was reviewed by the other three researchers. It consisted of three parts: the first part was of demographic data including previous surgery, the second part contained questions about patients’ perception of anaesthetists in terms of their qualifications, and importance, and the last part examined patients’ awareness of the roles of anaesthetist both inside and outside theatre, (Additional file 1)
Two hundred and sixty-three patients (52%) had previous surgeries, 39% of them were in teaching hospitals
Summary
Background and aimDespite big leaps of progress in its scope, the practice of anesthesia is still suffering from poor public image, especially in developing countries. Since its early beginnings in the nineteenth century, the practice of anesthesia had been in a state of continuous evolution [1]. This evolution culminated in the announcement of anesthesia as a specialty in 1939 during the New York World Fair [2]. In addition to the perioperative anesthetic care, the practice covers acute and chronic pain management, intensive care units, and resuscitation care services. This is in addition to the well-established role of anaesthetists in undergraduate medical education [3]. The role of the anaesthetist, as a medical care giver, has grown tremendously and extended beyond the boundaries of operating theatres
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