ISSN 2757-8135 | E-ISSN 2757-9816
European Eye Research
A tertiary hospital study on standard versus simplified consent forms for cataract surgery: Is there a perceptible or imperceptible influence on surgery decision-making? [Eur Eye Res]
Eur Eye Res. 2023; 3(3): 132-138 | DOI: 10.14744/eer.2023.93063

A tertiary hospital study on standard versus simplified consent forms for cataract surgery: Is there a perceptible or imperceptible influence on surgery decision-making?

Ibrahim Ethem Ay, Muberra Akdogan, Ayse Yesim Oral, Ozgur Erogul, Mustafa Dogan, Hamidu Hamisi Gobeka
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to investigate the standard versus simplified consent forms (CFs) for cataract surgery to see if there was a difference that influenced patients’ surgery decisions.
METHODS: Four hundred patients scheduled for elective cataract surgery at a tertiary hospital between March 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022, were investigated. Patients signed the CFs on the day of surgery, either independently or with the assistance of a companion. Demographic data were collected, including age, gender, educational level, prior surgery, and whether or not they were alone.
RESULTS: The simplified CFs were far more likely to be read than the standard CFs, and the reading rate increased significantly with educational level (P < 0.001). No significant influential difference existed in the CF reading between patients reading in-dependently and those assisted by companions (P = 0.139). The simplified CFs influenced surgery-related patients’ decisions the most (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: In the CFs, a relatively simple, easily readable, and comprehensible language appears to have a significant per-ceptible, or at least imperceptible, influence on patients’ surgery decisions.

Keywords: Cataract surgery, consent forms; decision; educational level; influence; readability.

Ibrahim Ethem Ay, Muberra Akdogan, Ayse Yesim Oral, Ozgur Erogul, Mustafa Dogan, Hamidu Hamisi Gobeka. A tertiary hospital study on standard versus simplified consent forms for cataract surgery: Is there a perceptible or imperceptible influence on surgery decision-making?. Eur Eye Res. 2023; 3(3): 132-138

Corresponding Author: Hamidu Hamisi Gobeka, Türkiye
Manuscript Language: English