Preassessment clinic interview and patient anxiety.

Saudi J Anaesth

Digital Health Institute, The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, G3 6RQ, United Kingdom.

Published: January 2016

AI Article Synopsis

  • Research shows that patients often experience heightened anxiety before elective surgeries, but studies on preassessment clinics (PACs) and their impact on anxiety have been limited.
  • A questionnaire-based study was conducted with 121 adult participants to evaluate their anxiety levels before and after attending the PAC, using a Likert-type scale.
  • Findings indicate that attendance at the PAC significantly reduced anxiety about surgery, with specific concerns varying by gender, and high satisfaction rates reported regarding the PAC services.

Article Abstract

Background: It is widely recognized that patients have increased anxiety before elective surgery, however, previous research investigating the effect of preassessment clinics (PACs) on anxiety levels has been limited specifically to patient information literature or multimedia use, rather than the consultation process itself. The aim was to investigate the effect attendance at PAC had on patients' anxiety levels, associated with their subsequent surgery and anesthetic.

Materials And Methods: This survey consisted of a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, quantitative study investigating patients' anxiety levels before and after attendance at the PAC. The questionnaire consisted of a series of statements concerning the surgery and anesthetic and rated using a Likert-type scale. All adult patients who attended an appointment at the PAC were eligible to participate in the study. Those unable to read and understand the questionnaire were excluded.

Results: Overall 121 participants were included in the study. Participants felt less anxious about their subsequent surgery and anesthetic following consultation at the PAC ( < 0.001). This was true for both gender subgroups ( < 0.05) Concerns about intraoperative complications generated the most anxiety. Postoperatively, male participants were most anxious about pain and females about nausea and vomiting. Participants also reported high satisfaction rates for the service at the PAC.

Conclusions: This study contributes to a greater understanding of preoperative anxiety and has important implications for PACs. This clinical survey has been able to demonstrate that consultation at the PAC has a statistically significant positive effect on alleviating patients' anxieties in regards to their surgery and anesthetic.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5044723PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/1658-354X.177339DOI Listing

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