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Family Influences on Patients’ Decisions to Undergo Bariatric Surgery
Author(s) -
Sloan Kelsey S.,
Roberson Donna W.,
Neil Janice A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1002/aorn.12928
Subject(s) - medicine , perioperative , affect (linguistics) , quality of life (healthcare) , family member , qualitative research , family medicine , psychology , surgery , nursing , social science , communication , sociology
Bariatric surgery is the treatment of choice for many obese patients. Although bariatric surgery has recognized benefits, some patients wait several years before deciding to proceed and many patients rely on family member advice and support during the decision‐making process. Using a secondary qualitative analysis of transcribed interviews, we examined family member influences on the patient's decision to undergo bariatric surgery. We identified four main themes: role modeling, quality of life with children, family and marital factors, and acquaintances' success with bariatric surgery. Participants indicated that being active with children and demonstrating healthier lifestyles was important, and that adult family members’ perceptions of the surgery affect the decision. Because family member influences are evident in the decision‐making process, perioperative nurses should be aware of the family's influence and include family members and significant others in the patient's decision‐making process for bariatric surgery.