BACKGROUND: In 2016, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute funded the National Patient Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) Bariatric Study (PBS). Understanding the experience of postoperative patients was a key component of this study.
METHODS: Nine focus groups were conducted in Southern California, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio and in a national advocacy conference for patients with obesity. Participants were identified and recruited in both clinical and community settings. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using an iterative inductive-deductive approach to identify global overarching themes.
RESULTS: There were 76 focus group participants. Participants were mostly women (81.4%), had primarily undergone gastric sleeve (47.0%), were non-Hispanic white (51.4%), had some college education (44.3%), and made $100,000 annual income or less (65.7%). Qualitative findings included negative reactions patients received from friends, family, and co-workers once they disclosed that they had bariatric surgery to lose weight; and barriers to follow-up care included insurance coverage, emotional and situational challenges, and physical pain limiting mobility.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm the other qualitative findings in this area. The approach to bariatric surgery should be expanded to provide long-term comprehensive care that includes in-depth postoperative lifetime monitoring of emotional and physical health.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michelle-lent/35/
This article was published in Obesity Surgery.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-020-04404-8
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