The effects of fellow patients on the emotional well-being and satisfaction with care of postoperative cosmetic surgery patients.

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a quasi-experimental study that represents the first attempt to systematically examine the possibility that contact with fellow patients after cosmetic surgery significantly influences a patient's postoperative emotional well-being and satisfaction with care. Patients were assigned to rooms that either facilitated ample postoperative contact with other patients (n = 70) or to rooms that were physically located in a manner that afforded little inter-patient contact (n = 9). The results indicate that whereas postoperative depression levels did not differ, patients in the high-patient-contact condition experienced less postoperative anxiety and greater overall satisfaction with their quality of care than did patients in the low-patient-contact condition. Analyses of patients' reported postoperative affiliations suggest several additional benefits of inter-patient contact, such as added emotional support, reduction of uncertainty about what to expect, and the opportunity to compare progress and emotional reactions. The results are consistent with a growing literature that suggests fellow patients can and do serve a useful, adjunctive role in health care. Questions for future research are considered.