title: Preparatory information and anxiety before sigmoidoscopy: a comparative study.
abstract: This study compared selected types of information given before sigmoidoscopy to determine if one intervention was superior to the other in decreasing anxiety. The design was two-group, pre- and posttest quasi-experimental. Anxiety was measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and heart rate monitoring. Preparatory information consisted of 3 to 5 min audiotaped messages. Subjects in a convenience sample of 22 men were randomly assigned to one of two information conditions, procedure (control) or procedure plus sensation (experimental). t tests and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Data analysis revealed no significant difference (p = .05) in anxiety between groups postintervention. There were no significant changes in heart rate between groups by time or within groups over time. Subjective comments on postsigmoidoscopy questions were strongly positive regarding the benefits of both types of preparatory information.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Fullhart
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012812:Sigmoidoscopy / Q000523:psychology*