Patients’ experiences before, during and after a colonoscopy procedure. Embrace the patient perspective.
Facts
- Contact person:
- Annica Rosvall
- Financer:
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- Malmö University
- Responsible at MaU:
- Annica Rosvall
- Project members at MaU:
- Affiliated:
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- Ervin Toth - Lunds universitet
- Time frame:
- 01 September 2007 - 01 September 2025
- Faculty/department:
- Research subject:
Project description
Colonoscopy is a commonly used examination of the colon and in many cases, of severely ill patient groups. A colonoscopy is used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes and the procedure may be experienced as embarrassing, uncomfortable, or even painful, which may cause that some refuse to undergo it. This in turn can lead to vital diagnostics or treatment being postponed to the future.
The medical benefits of a colonoscopy are for many patients indisputable, and for that reason, it is crucial that the examination is of high quality and that the patients experiences the colonoscopy as an acceptable procedure. It is therefore important, and in accordance with quality guidelines from the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, to ask patients who have undergone a colonoscopy how they experienced the procedure. By taking advantage of their perspective, for example, preparations and information concerning the colonoscopy can be developed, which in turn contribute to the procedure being carried out in an optimal way.
The patients' perspective regarding the colonoscopy can be collected by measuring their experiences with the help of a specific questionnaire. It is essential that the questionnaire consists of questions that are identified by patients who have experience of undergoing the procedure and that the questions represent their experiences of the colonoscopy. Such specific questionnaires are currently lacking, which means that patients' perspectives cannot fully be utilized in research and / or quality improvements regarding colonoscopy procedures.
The overall aim of the thesis is to explore patients’ experiences before, during, and after a colonoscopy procedure and to identify patient-reported variables based on these experiences as well as to develop and test an instrument consistent with patient-reported experience measures regarding the colonoscopy procedure. Patients who have experience of undergoing a colonoscopy will be involved in developing a questionnaire.