EVIDENCE-BASED CARE OF CHINESE MEN HAVING TRANSURETHRAL RESECTION OF THE PROSTATE (TURP)

Aim of study: To measure the effect of specific preoperative informati on on postoperative anxiety, satisfaction with information, and demand for analgesia, of Chinese males having transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), Design: A controlled experimental design, The resear chers allocated all patients (n=30) undergoing TURF in a general hospi tal in Hong Kong, during a 3-month period, to one of two groups. The e xperimental group (n = 15) received a specific information pamphlet an d a general preoperative counselling video. The control group (n=15) r eceived a video alone. Procedure and measures: Following ethical appro val, a researcher took baseline measures of state and trait anxiety us ing the Chinese State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (C -STAI). Five days aft er surgery the researcher administered the C-STAI (A-State), a patient s' satisfaction questionnaire, and, recorded requests for analgesia du ring the first 5 postoperative days. Results: Experimental subjects re ported significantly lower anxiety levels post-operatively and a signi ficantly higher level of satisfaction with the preoperative informatio n, than controls. Postoperative demand for analgesia did not significa ntly differ between groups. Conclusions: The findings support the impo rtance of providing patients with specific, written preoperative infor mation about their surgery and its effects to minimize their postopera tive anxiety levels, and improve their satisfaction with the care prov ided.