The effect of familiarization with preoperative care on anxiety and vital signs in the patient’s cesarean section: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Cesarean section (C-section) is one of the most prevalent surgeries among women. The preoperative stages in the surgery day and lack of control over being in an unfamiliar situation and feeling danger cause anxiety, and consequently, instability in patients. This study aimed to determine the effect of familiarization with preoperative nursing care on anxiety and vital signs of patients in cesarean section. METHODS This randomized controlled trial study was performed on 80 pregnant candidates for C-section in Hamadan Fatemieh Hospital, Iran, in 2020. Patients were randomly divided into control (n=40) and intervention (n=40) groups. The control group just received the routine intervention of the hospital, but the intervention group, in addition, received the two familiarizing sessions with preoperative nursing care. Data were collected via vital signs sheet and Spielberger situational anxiety questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS16 software at a significance level of p=0.05. RESULTS Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the mean anxiety scores of the control and intervention groups, and the two groups were homogeneous (p=0.396). However, after the intervention, the mean anxiety of the intervention group decreased significantly (p=0.001) and increased in the control group (p=0.600); and the mean post-test of the two groups showed a significant difference (p=0.001). After the intervention, the mean heart rate, respiration rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the intervention group decreased significantly (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in heart rate and systolic blood pressure of the control group (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Based on the results of this study we conclude that familiarity with preoperative care reduces the level of anxiety and stabilized the level of vital signs parameters.

The Impact of Educational Sessions on Anxiety Levels among Women Undergoing Caesarean Section: A Quasi-Experimental Study

“…Only body temperature was not significantly different before or after the educational sessions. These findings are supported by studies conducted by [13] and [28]. In addition, Ref.…”

“…Furthermore, the results showed that the mean differences in the STAI scores in terms of high overall anxiety between the intervention and control groups were significant, implying that the educational sessions effectively decreased anxiety levels among the pregnant women. Many studies have reported that pregnant women who attend appropriate educational sessions before their deliveries have lower anxiety levels compared to other pregnant women who receive no educational sessions [12,27,28]. In our study, we used the booklet not only for instructional purposes but also for reinforcement and future reference.…”

Correlates of higher anxiety scores reported by women admitted for elective caesarean section

“…Possible explanations for the differences between our results and the published report may include different previous experiences with a CS including the indication of a previous CS, variations in preoperative care in different countries, complications during the procedure or anaesthesia, and familiarity with the settings of a CS. Mostafayi et al [ 22 ] showed that familiarity with preoperative care about a CS is associated with lesser anxiety scores and different indications for the CS. In our cohort, while women who had a CS performed for foetal indication reported higher anxiety scores, the association was not statistically significant.…”