Background. The aim of the study was to assess nutritional knowledge and support obtained in patients after gastrointestinal surgery, thanks to which it is possible to adapt the prehabilitation process to the type of surgery and a disease associated with it. The research method used in the study was a survey questionnaire, an original survey consisting of 4 open-ended questions and 19  single- or multiple-choice closed-ended questions. The study group consisted of patients of a hospital in southern Poland from the general surgery and oncology departments, who agreed to  participate in the survey. The survey was attended by 26 men (57 %) and 20 women (43 %).
Results and conclusions. In the conducted study, the respondents mostly assessed their level of knowledge as average (93 %) and low (7 %). Only 50 % of the respondents correctly answered the question about what proper nutrition was. In our own study, the majority of the respondents (44 ÷ 59%) indicated meat, fish, eggs and dairy products as sources of protein. Most respondents demonstrated good knowledge of the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption (70 %). Unfortunately, 62 % of the respondents were unable to correctly indicate the main source of energy for the body by selecting protein. The knowledge of people taking part in the survey on the sources of essential unsaturated fatty acids (EFAs) was relatively low, because only 48 % of the  respondents indicated the correct answer (vegetable oils, linseed, oily sea fish). We also assessed what the patient understands as the concept of „support after gastrointestinal surgery”, only 22  % of the respondents indicated appropriate nutrition and only 4 % nutritional education. Based on the results obtained, it was found that the nutritional knowledge of the respondents who had  undergone planned gastrointestinal surgery was at an average level, which was associated with low quality of preparation for the surgery. Implementing the prehabilitation process early enough
could have alleviated this effect. Most respondents consider appropriate medical care as support after gastrointestinal surgery. Had the prehabilitation process been implemented into medical  care, including nutritional education, support from a psychologist and a physiotherapist, i.e. answers that were omitted by the respondents, medical care would have been at an optimal level,  meeting the expectations placed on it. Nutritional intervention including nutritional education and recommendation to include functional food in the diet of patients could reduce the risk of complications related to the surgery and speed up the recovery process.