A Comparison of Two Methods of Preoperative Patient Education and Their Effects on Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The main study purposes are: to measure differences between state and trait anxiety levels of women undergoing hysterectomy, and to compare the effect of two methods of preoperative patient education on anxiety levels. Randomized controlled trial. Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan, Canada. Thirty-one women (mean age: 45.0 ± 6.4), undergoing total or supracervical laparoscopic hysterectomy (with or without salpingo-oophorectomy) for benign disease. Participants were randomly placed in the intervention group (n = 18) or the control group (n = 13). The control group received usual preoperative education (e.g., explanation from the nurse, information pamphlet), while the intervention group was shown a video outlining what to expect on the day of surgery and during recovery, and the basic surgical procedure itself. After the completion of preoperative education, both groups completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A significant main effect (p <0.01) was found for anxiety, indicating that ratings for state anxiety were higher than trait anxiety, F(1,27) = 33.31, r = 0.74. Regarding the main effect for group type or the interaction effect between the two predictor variables, no significant results were found (p > 0.05). In addition, participants were called two weeks after surgery and asked to evaluate the surgical preparation received. Results indicated that women undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy have significantly elevated anxiety levels right before surgery (state) as compared to during regular circumstances (trait), while the type of preoperative education did not have a significant effect. Although feedback from the telephone interview suggested that video education was an upgrade over the written component of the routine education, the chance to also talk to a nurse and ask questions could have negated its positive effect on anxiety levels. On the other hand, it cannot be excluded that the impact of education in itself on anxiety may be less pronounced than anticipated.