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Impact of a Brief Intervention on Patient Anxiety Prior to Day Surgery

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Abstract

Patients anticipating surgical procedures experience significant anxiety, resulting in adverse outcomes and increased expenditures. Research has investigated the impact of anxiety-reducing interventions, frequently the provision of surgical information, with inconsistent results. The present study (N = 98) examined preference for information, or “monitor-blunter” coping style, and the impact of a pre-surgical phone call from an anesthesiologist on anxiety in which treatment group participants (n = 51) dictated the amount of information received. Monitors were hypothesized to desire more information than blunters, and changes in anxiety for monitors/blunters were hypothesized to be moderated by length of call. Monitors and blunters demonstrated equal call durations and anxiety levels remained equivalent across groups. Findings and implications for future research are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts

    Jill A. Stoddard & Kamila S. White

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, Boston, Massachusetts

    Nicholas A. Covino

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

    Lisa Strauss

  4. Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders at Boston University, 648 Beacon Street, 6th floor, Boston, 02215, Massachusetts

    Jill A. Stoddard

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  1. Jill A. Stoddard
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Stoddard, J.A., White, K.S., Covino, N.A. et al. Impact of a Brief Intervention on Patient Anxiety Prior to Day Surgery. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 12, 99–110 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-005-3269-6

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