The Effect of Preoperative Education on Preoperative Anxiety in Patients Waiting for Surgery: A literature Review

Among patients undergoing surgery, preoperative anxiety (PA) is one of the most common psychological problems that can negatively impact the patient's physical health and the operation's outcome. Preoperative patient education (PPE) is a way to reduce PA, which has many advantages over pharmaceutical methods. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PPE on PA in patients who are candidates for surgery by reviewing similar previous studies.

The data in this narrative review were collected by searching past studies in reliable international databases, including Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar, in the last two decades. In the first stage of the search, 248 articles and scientific reports were received, and then 30 articles were selected as final studies by considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

 In most previous similar studies, PPE significantly reduced PA in patients who are candidates for surgery. However, the findings of a small number of studies also showed that PPE had little positive effect, no effect, or negative effect on PA control. There were different methods to provide information to patients before surgery, and the efficiency and application of each were different based on the demographic characteristics of the patients.

 Based on the findings, appropriate training methods can reduce the level of PA in patients who are candidates for surgery. However, in some past studies, providing information about the surgical procedure may increase patients' PA. Therefore, nurses or medical staff with more contact with patients are suggested to have sufficient experience and knowledge in providing information and choosing the training method for patients before surgery.