The effects of giving patients pre-operative information

Abstract

There is plenty of evidence that pre-operative information giving can reduce patients' anxiety regarding surgery. It might be better to provide this information before patients are admitted to hospital, as they are more likely to be able to take in the information if they are not already feeling anxious. To provide better patient care, members of the peri-operative team should work together to prepare patients for the psychological and physical consequences of surgery.

Effect of preoperative nursing visit on preoperative anxiety and postoperative complications in candidates for laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a randomized clinical trial

“…Sawangarom and Hughes show comparable results with our study . They found that anxiety in patients who received a preoperative nursing visit was 6.37 at admission and then decreased to 6.00 upon entry into the OR.…”

Checklists in the operating room: Help or hurdle? A qualitative study on health workers' experiences

“…These approaches may be helpful in other situations. Structured and individual information may reduce patient anxiety [18]; in situations that are difficult for the patient, too much focus on a checklist, rather than on the patient, may make the patient's situation worse. We also believe that patient anxiety can be prevented by trained health care workers that are confident about when to read the checklist, and who should lead the session.…”

Inevitable problems of older people: presurgery information effect on anxiety levels in patients undergoing cataract surgery

“…Therefore, this suggests that if the education is provided prior to surgery and before the patient registers in the hospital, it would be more useful for the patients. It has also been shown that the informative nurse education given 24 hours prior to the operation is more effective in decreasing mean state‐trait anxiety scores (Karakulu & Ozgür , Salkim , Hughes , Yorulmaz & Özbayir , Sjöling et al . , Keskin ).…”