ABSTRACT
Background Preoperative anxiety is a frequent and challenging problem that may impact a patient's postoperative pain and satisfaction. The level of a patient's anxiety needs to be assessed through a valid and reliable instrument to prevent and treat preoperative anxiety effectively. One such reliable measurement scale is Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and information scale, which is based on a self-reported questionnaire but is still not validated in Arabic. Objective To validate the Arabic Version of the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) for assessing preoperative anxiety in the Arabic population. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to translate and evaluate the validity of the APAIS in the Arabic version. The targeted population was Saudi adults undergoing surgery at the King Fahad Hospital in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. One hundred hospital patients were recruited and given the APAIS questionnaire to collect the data. The ethical considerations have been appropriately followed to protect the privacy of the patient's history. The collected data was qualitative and quantitative, which were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results The questionnaire showed high internal consistency on the anxiety scale (Cronbach's alpha: 0.851) and a strong correlation between age, chronic diseases, and surgery. While Cronbach's alpha for the information scale is 0.827. The gold standard curve between the worried and afraid two variables showed good efficiency during the configuration. In addition, the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) model of the Arabic version is a two-factor model to evaluate the validity of the Arabic version. Conclusion The Arabic Version of the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and information scale (APAIS) is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing preoperative anxiety. Using this validated scale for Arabic patients is feasible and shows promising results.
