Abstract
Background:Patients going through surgery being awake often have a sense of anxiety and need support to relax.Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate whether looking at pictures of natural scenery could reduce anxiety and pain and increase relaxation and well-being being awake during the elective surgery.Methods:This three-arm, randomized intervention study consisted of one group viewing pictures of natural scenery, one group listening to soft instrumental music, and one control group without distraction, all adult patients (n=174). The State Trait Anxiety Inventory short form and a visual analogue scale on well-being were used as well as sedation treatment if necessary.Results:No differences related to anxiety after surgery were found among the three groups. When controlling for the effect of sedative treatment, however, patients without sedation had a lower degree of anxiety postoperatively (p=0.014). Younger patients had a higher degree of anxiety and lower degree of postoperative relaxation and well-being. Conclusion: Viewing pictures of natural scenery while being awake during elective surgery is as relaxing as listening to soft instrumental music. Offering nature scenery pictures for patients to view could be relaxing during the elective surgery.
Highlights
Patients undergoing surgery often have a sense of anxiety and stress [1, 2]
This three-arm, randomized intervention study to evaluate the effect of looking at pictures of nature being awake during elective surgery was performed at three hospitals in Southern Sweden
Both the music intervention and the picture intervention groups received less sedation with propofol during the surgery compared with the control group
Summary
Patients undergoing surgery often have a sense of anxiety and stress [1, 2]. Epidural, or local anesthesia offers many advantages for the patient because it is less risky as compared to general anesthesia. These anesthesia options may be stressful and anxiety inducing because the patient is awake during surgery, so it is important to establish and maintain the patient’s comfort [7, 8]. In addition to reducing anxiety through establishing trust between the patient and the nurse anesthetist, different interventions have been tested for distracting patients to reduce the anxiety and stress [11 - 13] related to the surgery. Patients going through surgery being awake often have a sense of anxiety and need support to relax.
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