The effect of film screening training before cataract surgery on anxiety in the elderly: A clinical trial

Cataract is one of the main reasons for visual acuity reduction in elderly. Like any other surgery, the elderly who are candidates for cataract surgery, experience a great deal of anxiety, having adverse effects on them, mentally and physiologically. Training interventions are a common and suitable type of nursing intervention having neither cast nor side effects. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of preparation-for-surgery training on the anxiety of the elderly before cataract surgery.

 This was a randomized clinical trial. Fifty old patients were selected from October 2020 to February 2021 using a targeted sampling method. They then divided randomly into two groups in the selected hospitals in Semnan, Iran. The intervention group took the training through the designed short film while the control group did not. The film included some information about the preparation before surgery, getting familiar with the environment and facilities of the surgery room, a part of surgical operation, recovery environment, some information about post-surgical cares, and times of subsequent visits of the doctor. The data were analyzed by SPSS v16 software using independent t-test, paired t-test, chi-square, and analysis of covariance.

 The mean score of the anxiety in the intervention and control groups had a significant difference (p<0.05). Also, the covariance analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in the anxiety reduction in the post-test.

 The findings suggest that the nurses are better at using other training methods such as pamphlets or face-to-face training along with film screening training.