Psychological Preparation for Gastroscopy: A Brief Intervention Reduces Patient Stress More than a Detailed Intervention

Abstract

The efficacy of psychological preparation for gastroscopy was investigated by allocating 43 subjects presenting far routine diagnostic gastroscopy to three groups. Of these, eight received a detailed 40-minute preparation with information on the gastroscope, the examination procedure, sensations to be expected, and a variety of coping mechanisms, including relaxation techniques; 15 subjects had a 10-minute preparation in which brief procedural and sensory information were given, and two coping mechanisms described; 20 control subjects received no preparation. The briefly prepared subjects showed a decisive advantage over both the controls and the detailed preparation group in measures of mood and behavioural manifestations of stress. Implications of these findings are considered with regard to the emotional factors co-existing with gastric-duodenal ulcerative disease, particularly in a South African context, and for the cost-effective preparation of patients for this and other stressful medical procedures.Die effektiwiteit van sielkundige voorbereiding vir gastroskopie is ondersoek in 'n totaal van 43 pasiente wat vir roetine diagnostiese gastroskopie aangemeld het. Hulle is in drie groepe verdeel: Die eerste groep van agt persone het 'n gedetailleerde voorbereiding van 40 minute ontvang, met inligting oar die gastroskoop, die prosedure, verwagte sensasies en 'n verskeidenheid van hanteringsmeganismes. Die tweede groep van 15 persone het 'n kort voorbereiding van 10 minute ontvang en die kontrole groep (20 persone) het geen intervensie ontvang nie. Die groep wat die kort intervensie ontvang het, het ten opsigte van sowel buimanifestasies as stres, beter gevaar as beide die kontrolegroep en die groep wat die gedetailleerde voorbereiding ontvang het. Die implikasies van die studie word in verband gebring met die gepaardgaande emosionele faktore van gastro-duodenale ulseratiewe siekte, veral in 'n Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, asook 'n koste-effektiewe voorbereiding van pasiente vir hierdie en ander stresvolle mediese prosedures.

‘Health psychology’ or ‘psychology for health’? A history of psychologists’ engagement with health in South Africa

“…North American social psychological theory – such as the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Reasoned Action – constrained the kinds of psychological questions that could be asked about health at the time (e.g. Barling and Janssens, 1984; Fourie and Nell, 1990). For some of our respondents, these studies’ silence about the racism, violence and deprivation that defined South African society was ideologically suspect: People were doing these studies on worker stress … and the reason for this stress was that … it was about cultural adaptation and not about the conditions they worked under.…”