Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / Anxiety is a common reponse in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The source of this anxiety is attributed to a multitude of factors. Research findings support the relationship between preoperative preparation and a reduction in anxiety. However, a lack of information exists as to the role of critical care nurses in this process. This purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a structured preoperative education/orientation visit by the critical care nurse on the level of patient anxiety.
A sample of 21 patients were drawn from the population of cardiac surgical patients and randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. Subjects in the experimental group received a structured preoperative education/orientation visit by a critical care nurse the evening prior to surgery. Subjects in the control group did not receive the visit.
Subjects in both groups completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory preoperatively and the A-State Scale plus an additional questionaire postoperatively. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance on repeated measures and a t-test comparison of mean anxiety scores.
Findings revealed no significant differences in postoperative state anxiety scores between the experimental and control group. Results from the second questionaire indicated that subjects in the experimental group felt the preoperative visit was helpful. Furthennore, those patients who had the continuity of the same nurse conducting the preoperative visit and assuming primary care postoperatively in the intensive care unit responded more favorably on the questionaires.
There were however, significant pre-existing differences in age and trait anxiety scores between the groups. This fact, in addition to the small sample size limit the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the experimental intervention. Thus, further research is warranted to determine the effect of a preoperative education/orientation visit by critical care nurses utilizing a larger sample size.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/37154 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Gross, Stacey B. |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | This work is being made available in OpenBU by permission of its author, and is available for research purposes only. All rights are reserved to the author. |
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