A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE ADAPTATION TRAINING (CAT) ON THE PREOPERATIVE ANXIETY OF CANDIDATES FOR CHOLECYSTECTOMY

Abstract

The patients who need surgery are prone to anxiety, and they should be able to adapt themselves to the surgery from the physical, mental and social aspects because there should be a balance between the physical-mental and social-cultural needs. So, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of cognitive adaptation training (CAT) on the preoperative anxiety of candidates for cholecystectomy. In the present quasi-experimental study, the statistical population comprised all patients who were hospitalized in the men and women’s surgical wards of Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah, Iran, to undergo cholecystectomy in 2016. To select the samples, the convenience sampling was employed (n=40). In accordance with the inclusion criteria, 40 patients were randomly divided into two groups of 20 patients: control group (preoperative individual counseling) and an experimental group (routine preoperative care). The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) was used. Data were analyzed through the SPSS Statistics Software Version 23.0 using the descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics such as analysis of covariance. Following the intervention, the mean of the total score of anxiety of the experimental group was less than that of the control group. Further, there was a significant difference between the means and standard deviations obtained in the posttest (p<0.001). The cognitive adaptation training (CAT)-based individual counseling proved efficacious in reducing the preoperative anxiety of patients. In this regard, this approach can be employed to lessen the preoperative anxiety of patients.