Thirst experience and nursing needs in older patients after general anesthesia for gastrointestinal surgery: A qualitative study

Table 1 Demographic information of interview participants

Participant ID	Gender	Age (years)	Education level	Anesthesia duration (minutes)	Recovery duration (minutes)
P1	Male	67	High School	120	65
P2	Male	77	Junior High School	125	60
P3	Female	73	Primary School	50	60
P4	Female	61	High School	80	70
P5	Female	68	Junior High School	130	50
P6	Female	76	High School	80	65
P7	Male	81	No Formal Education	245	70
P8	Female	69	Primary School	125	60
P9	Female	70	College	60	50
P10	Male	71	High School	280	75
P11	Male	71	Secondary Vocational School	195	45
P12	Male	74	Junior High School	80	60

Table 2 Themes and subthemes of the study

Theme	Subtheme
Intense sensations of thirst post-surgery	Subjective experience of thirst
	Duration of thirst
Emotional experiences of thirst-related discomfort	Anxiety
	Irritability and helplessness
Practical challenges in relieving thirst	Limitations of current interventions
	Nursing response time
Patient expectations of nursing care	Desire for more timely interventions
	Expectation for more proactive attention from nursing staff