Effectiveness of a Nurse-Led Intervention on Pre-procedural Anxiety Among Patients Undergoing Endoscopy: A Quasi-experimental Trial

TL;DR

A nurse-led intervention effectively reduced anxiety in patients before endoscopy, improving their experience and procedural outcomes.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of nurse-led interventions in reducing pre-procedural anxiety for endoscopy patients.

Findings

The nurse-led intervention reduced pre-procedural anxiety by a mean of 8.31 points on the anxiety scale.

Anxiety in the experimental group was linked to education level, diet, procedure purpose, and prior exposure.

Control group anxiety was associated with diet, diagnosis, hospitalization history, and procedure purpose.

Abstract

Introduction: Procedural anxiety is the fear or worry associated with medical procedures that may interfere with the ability to receive appropriate care. It can lead to heightened pain perception, greater sedation requirements, reduced cooperation, and compromised procedural safety and patient satisfaction.

Methods: A quantitative, quasi-experimental post-test-only design was employed among 120 patients undergoing endoscopy, selected through a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Anxiety levels were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale.

Results: The study findings revealed a mean difference of 8.31 (95% CI: 6.10-10.52) between the control and experimental groups, indicating that the nurse-led intervention was effective in reducing pre-procedural anxiety among patients undergoing endoscopy. In the experimental group, pre-procedural anxiety showed a significant association with the patient’s educational level, dietary pattern, purpose of the endoscopic procedure, and previous exposure. In contrast, in the control group, significant associations were observed with dietary pattern, patient’s diagnosis, previous hospitalization, purpose of the endoscopic procedure, and previous exposure.

Conclusion: Nurse-led interventions significantly reduced pre-procedural anxiety among endoscopy patients. Integrating such approaches to patient groups particularly prone to anxiety offers a promising pathway to enhance overall patient experience and procedural success.

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