Department of Health and Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2018 Oct 25;13(10):e0206066. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206066. eCollection 2018.
The only effective weight loss treatment for severe obesity is bariatric surgery, with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass being the most common method. Patients often have unrealistic expectations of surgery and expect a "miracle cure" even though the procedure requires major lifelong lifestyle changes. Most patients access information about the procedure online, and come into contact with others who have had the surgery.
The objective of this study was to describe shared values, feelings, and thoughts among visitors to a web-based forum for those undergoing bariatric surgery.
In this cross-sectional observation study using qualitative contents analysis, the material consisted of an online discussion forum thread about bariatric surgery, with 498 posts. These were saved in a document, read and re-read. Through coding of meaningful units of text, themes were established.
Four themes were constructed during data analysis: a) A new life-anticipating dramatic changes of body and mind; b) Negotiating the system and playing the waiting game; c) A means to an end-managing the pre-operative diet; and d) Managing the attitudes of others. Posters described the process of bariatric surgery as a journey, riddled with roadblocks, setbacks and trials, but also with joy and expectations of a new life.
Professionals who encounter this group should be aware of their need for support throughout the process, and investigate the possibility of both pre- and postoperative support groups, either online or face-to-face. The results also show that the posters on the forum had very high, and often unrealistic, expectations on how the surgery would change their lives. It is important for those who encounter this group before surgery to be aware of this tendency and to take measures to ensure that patients undergo the surgery with realistic expectations.
治疗严重肥胖症唯一有效的减肥方法是减重手术，其中 Roux-en-Y 胃旁路术最为常见。患者通常对手术抱有不切实际的期望，期待一种“奇迹疗法”，尽管手术需要进行重大的终身生活方式改变。大多数患者在网上获取有关手术的信息，并与已经接受过手术的人接触。
本研究旨在描述接受减重手术者在线论坛访问者之间的共同价值观、感受和想法。
在这项使用定性内容分析的横断面观察研究中，材料由一个关于减重手术的在线论坛主题组成，其中包含 498 个帖子。这些帖子被保存为一个文档，进行了阅读和反复阅读。通过对有意义的文本单元进行编码，确立了主题。
在数据分析过程中构建了四个主题：a）新生活——期待身心发生戏剧性变化；b）协商系统并玩等待游戏；c）达到目的的手段——管理术前饮食；d）管理他人的态度。发帖者将减重手术的过程描述为充满障碍、挫折和考验的旅程，但也充满了喜悦和对新生活的期待。
遇到这群人的专业人士应该意识到他们在整个过程中需要支持，并调查在线或面对面的术前和术后支持小组的可能性。研究结果还表明，论坛上的发帖者对手术如何改变他们的生活抱有非常高且往往不切实际的期望。对于那些在手术前遇到这群人的人来说，了解这种趋势并采取措施确保患者以现实的期望接受手术非常重要。
