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Little is known about patients' postoperative emotional and social functioning and preferences for recovery settings. This qualitative study explores patients' perspectives on factors influencing postoperative recovery, including the proportion of time recovering at home (home time) and unmet information needs.Semistructured interviews were conducted between September and December 2020 with veteran patients aged 65 y or older who underwent surgery at a single hospital. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to identify patients with a broad representation of major operations and various amounts of home time. One-hour interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and anonymized for analysis. A rigorous team-based in-depth thematic analysis was performed. Validation techniques to enhance the quality and credibility of the study included triangulation, independent coding, and search for disconfirming evidence.Twelve patients were interviewed (11 [91.7%] males; mean (standard deviation) age, 72.3 [4.8] y). Five factors that influenced the recovery process emerged: (1) professional support services, (2) informal caregiver support, (3) environment for recovery, (4) individual traits, and (5) physical and functional impairments. The analysis also elucidated four unmet information needs regarding recovery: (1) personalized and detailed information, (2) anticipated recovery time, (3) possible complications, and (4) comprehensive information about discharge location options.The study demonstrated that patients recovering from surgery require wide-ranging levels of support to meet their unique needs and preferences. Patients value easy-to-understand and personalized information about recovery from providers. These findings may be helpful to develop strategies that better support patients in their postoperative recovery and post-acute care transition pathways.

Prior work suggests women surgical role models attract more female medical students into surgical training. We investigate recent trends of women in surgical society leadership and national conference moderator and plenary speaker roles.Gender distribution was surveyed at 15 major surgical societies and 14 conferences from 2014 to 2018 using publicly reported data. Roles were categorized as leadership (executive council), moderator, or plenary speaker. Data were cross-checked from online profiles and by contacting societies. Logistic regression with Huber-White clustering by society was utilized to evaluate proportions of women in each role over time and determine associations between the proportion of women in executive leadership, and scientific session moderators and plenary speakers.The proportion of leadership positions held by women increased slightly from 2014 to 2018 (20.6%-26.6%, P = 0.23), as did the proportion of moderators (26.2%-30.6%, P = 0.027) and plenary speakers (26.2%-30.9%, P = 0.058). The proportion of women in each role varied significantly across societies (all P0.001): leaders (range 0.0%-52.0%), moderators (12.5%-58.8%), and plenary speakers (11.3%-60.0%). Three patterns of change were observed: eight societies (53.3%) demonstrated increases in representation of women over time, four societies (26.6%) showed stable moderate-to-good gender balance, and three societies (20.0%) had consistent underrepresentation of women.There is significant variability in the representation of women at the leadership level of national surgical societies and participating at national surgical conferences as moderators and plenary speakers. Over the past 5 years some societies have achieved advances in gender equity, but many societies still have substantial room for improvement.

Introduction: This study examined the feasibility and efficacy of Tele-Savvy, an online version of the Savvy Caregiver Program, a psychoeducation program for caregivers caring for a person with dementia. Methods: A convenience sample of 22 caregivers from the Atlanta VA and 42 caregivers from 14 different states enrolled in Tele-Savvy. Pre- and post-program evaluations assessed caregiver burden, caregiver competency, and frequency of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Results: Fifty-seven caregivers completed the 6-week Tele-Savvy program. Caregivers whose care recipients exhibited higher average BPSD frequency at baseline demonstrated significantly greater burden decreases post-program. Caregivers of care recipients in more advanced dementia stages demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in caregiver competence. Discussion: The results point to the feasibility of achieving significant results in caregivers’ well-being and care recipients’ BPSD with a fully online program. Tele-Savvy may be particularly efficacious for caregivers whose care recipients exhibit higher BPSD frequency and are in later dementia stages.

Key Points Question What are patients’ perspectives about home time after surgery, and is home time associated with quality of life, function, and decisional regret after surgery? Findings In this mixed-methods study including a survey of 152 US veterans and 12 qualitative interviews, increased home time in the first year after major surgery was associated with improved daily function and physical quality of life. Patients considered home as the preferred place for postoperative recovery, and qualitative interviews suggested the importance of home time in mental and emotional recovery from surgery. Meaning The findings suggest that home time is a potentially useful patient-oriented surgical quality outcome measure., Importance Home time, defined as time spent at home after hospital discharge, is emerging as a novel, patient-oriented outcome in stroke recovery and end-of-life care. Longer home time is associated with lower mortality and higher patient satisfaction. However, a knowledge gap exists in the measurement and understanding of home time in the population undergoing surgery. Objectives To examine the association between postoperative home time and quality of life (QoL), functional status, and decisional regret and to identify themes regarding the meaning of time spent at home after surgery. Design, Setting, and Participants This mixed-methods study including a survey and qualitative interviews used an explanatory sequential design involving 152 quantitative surveys followed by in-depth interviews with 12 participants from February 26, 2020, to December 17, 2020. US veterans older than 65 years who underwent inpatient surgery at a single-center veterans hospital within the prior 6 to 12 months were studied. Exposures Quality of life, measured by the Veterans RAND 12-item Health Survey and 19-item Control, Autonomy, Self-realization, and Pleasure scale; functional status, measured by activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL scales; and regret, measured by the Decision Regret Scale. Main Outcomes and Measures Home time, standardized as percentage of total time spent at home from the time of surgery to the time of survey administration. Associations between home time and QoL, function, and decisional regret in the survey data were analyzed using Spearman correlation in the overall cohort and in operative stress score subcohorts (1-2 [low] vs 3-5 [high]) in a stratified analysis. The 12 semistructured interviews were analyzed to elicit patients’ perspectives on home time in postoperative recovery. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed using content and thematic analysis and integrated with quantitative data in joint displays. Results A total of 152 patients (mean [SD] age, 72.3 [4.4] years; 146 [96.0%] male) were surveyed, and 12 patients (mean [SD] age, 72.3 [4.8] years; 11 [91.7%] male) were interviewed. The median time to survey completion was 307 days (IQR, 265-344 days). The median home time was 97.8% (IQR, 94.6%-98.6%; range, 22.2%-99.5%). Increased home time was associated with better physical health–related QoL in the Veterans RAND 12-item Health Survey (r = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.18-0.47; P, This mixed-methods study including a survey and qualitative interviews of US veterans who underwent inpatient surgery assesses whether the percentage of time spent at home after surgery was associated with quality of life, function, and decisional regret after surgery.