The Impact of Preoperative Education on Reducing Anxiety among Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery at Shahidan Qaladze Teaching Hospital in Kurdistan Region/Iraq

Background:Preoperative anxiety is a common reaction experienced by patients who are admitted to the hospital for surgery. It can be described as an unpleasant state of tension or uneasiness that results from a patient's doubts or fears before an operation. Aim:Examine the effect of an educational intervention for patients who are scheduled for a surgical operation on reducing their anxiety prior to the surgery. Methods:This quasi-experimental/Static-group comparison design was used to on a purposive sample of 150 patients attending operation waiting room in Shahidan Qaladze Teaching Hospital from May 28 to July 27, 2022. Data were collected by direct interview. The patients were divided into two groups; the control and the educational group. Results:150 participants were selectedpurposively, (75 control; 75 educational) group. Participants who received a preoperative education program experienced a greater decrease (30.9066.959) in anxiety scores (Mean difference =14.146, 95% confidence interval 11.54 to 16.75; P-value < 0.001) compared with those who did not (45.0539.043). More than half (65.3%) of the control group participants experienced severe preoperative anxiety while the majority (88%) of the intervention group who received the education program experienced mild anxiety as suggested by the S-STAI score. Conclusions:The verbal education before surgery has a significant effect on reducing patients anxiety before they transfer to the operating room.