The Effect of Education on the Anxiety Level of Patients Before Thyroidectomy.

PURPOSE: The present study aims to evaluate the effect of preoperative education on the level of anxiety provided to patients scheduled for thyroidectomy using education brochures on the level of anxiety.

DESIGN: The study design was quasi-experimental.

METHODS: The study data were collected using the Patient Information Form and the Turkish version of the Anxiety Specific to Surgery Questionnaire (ASSQ). Study group patients were informed by brochure before 24 hours. Control group patients were informed verbally during routine preoperative preparation or 1 day before surgery. Test and control group patients were resubjected to the ASSQ before being transported from their unit beds to the operating room.

FINDINGS: There was no significant difference in the mean scores of the pretest and final test ASSQ scores for the test and control groups (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Our study results showed that education provided to the patients scheduled for thyroid surgery using written materials did not affect anxiety.