Timing of ADL education with hand surgery patients

The purpose of this study was to determine the most effective time to offer Activities of Daily Living (ADL) education to hand surgery patients. Forty adults requiring hand surgery for tendinitis, tenosynovitis, and/or neurapraxia were equally and randomly divided into two groups. Under supervision from the occupational therapy staff, one group practiced self-care tasks listed on an ADL Guide before surgery. The second group engaged in the same ADL activity after surgery. All subjects completed an anxiety inventory to measure but not control for this variable. After the first postoperative week, the participants completed a self reporting form that evaluated how helpful the ADL Guide was in managing self-care following surgery. The results were initially analyzed using Student's t-test. Timing of the ADL activity and anxiety were not found to have a statistically significant effect on the patient rating of the ADL Guide's helpfulness. With the data collapsed across groups, the patient rating scores of the ADL Guide were reclassified into four rank orders ranging from low to high. The indication was that all patients viewed the ADL activity as moderately to highly helpful.