Effects of selected types of preoperative information on postoperative coping

ABSTRACT

The effects of selected types of preoperative information on the frequency of use of coping strategies, as well as the relationship between the use of coping strategies and the development of symptoms postoperatively were examined using a sample of 60 cholecystectomy female patients. The sample was equitably randomized into experimental and control groups. Two days prior to surgery the experimental subjects received information on perioperative procedures, some of the sensations that may accompany the experience in addition to information on particular physical and psychophysiologic coping strategies. On the third day postoperatively, the reported frequency of use of coping strategies and the developed symptoms were measured. Results showed that the experimental subjects who received preoperative information reported significantly higher scores on the postoperative use of physical and psychophysiologic coping strategies [t = 2.23, P < .05; t = 2.73, P < .01 respectively]. There was also an inverse relationship between the reported frequency of physical coping strategies and the developed symptoms postoperatively. The findings implied that combined types of preoperative information may be an effective nursing intervention in promoting postoperative recovery of surgical patients, it also indicated that fostering anticipatory coping strategies would enrich the understanding of the coping process and provide more meaningful data on which to base clinical interventions: