In an outcome-based health care environment, the demonstration of patient satisfaction with postoperative care has become an important criterion for quality of care assessment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of hand massage therapy and preoperative information on postoperative patient satisfaction.

One hundred full term patients scheduled for elective cesarean section under combined spinal- epidural anesthesia were randomly assigned to either the control group (n = 50) or the experimental group (n = 50). The experimental group received a hand massage and preoperative information about their surgery and anesthesia, whereas the control group did not. Twenty-four h after surgery, postoperative patient satisfaction was assessed with questionnaire consisting of 20 items in a blind manner.

The mean postoperative satisfaction score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (94.9 ± 15.6 vs. 52.2 ± 8.5). The pain score postoperatively of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (0.4 ± 2.1 vs. 2.1 ± 0.6), but the pain score at a postoperative 24 h and total analgesic requirement were similar in the two groups.

Preoperative information supply and hand massage therapy are useful interventions that improve postoperative patient satisfaction.