Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures

Perioperative nurses recognise that family members experience increased levels of anxiety during the wait for a relative undergoing a surgical procedure. It is often during this time that little or no meaningful communication occurs between family members and health professionals. It has been sugge...

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Main Authors: Kate Kynoch, Linda Crowe, Annie McArdle, Judy Munday, CJ Cabilan, Sonia Hines
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Australian College of Perioperative Nurses 2017-03-01
Series:Journal of Perioperative Nursing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.acorn.org.au/index.php/jpn/article/view/287
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author Kate Kynoch
Linda Crowe
Annie McArdle
Judy Munday
CJ Cabilan
Sonia Hines
author_facet Kate Kynoch
Linda Crowe
Annie McArdle
Judy Munday
CJ Cabilan
Sonia Hines
author_sort Kate Kynoch
collection DOAJ
description Perioperative nurses recognise that family members experience increased levels of anxiety during the wait for a relative undergoing a surgical procedure. It is often during this time that little or no meaningful communication occurs between family members and health professionals. It has been suggested that a structured information intervention has the potential to increase communication between families and health care professionals as well as decrease family members’ anxiety. The aim of this study was to establish the effect of a structured communication program on anxiety of family members’ awaiting relatives undergoing surgical procedures. A quasi-experimental design was used with a sample of 129 family members of patients undergoing surgical procedures in a tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Consecutive sampling was used to recruit family members for the control group and the intervention group. The intervention group received a structured intervention which included an information card as well as an in-person nursing report. The control group received usual care. A demographic data collection form and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to collect data. Results from the study suggest that the structured communication intervention reduced family anxiety; however, results were not statistically significant. An important finding of this study was that only one relative in the control group received information during the perioperative time period indicating a need to improve communication between families and staff. It was concluded that more nursing interventions designed to reduce family members’ anxiety during the operative waiting period are needed.
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issn 2209-1084
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publishDate 2017-03-01
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spelling doaj-art-e37eb20f9d824d6bbc7eecbfafa69ed32025-08-20T03:53:23ZengAustralian College of Perioperative NursesJournal of Perioperative Nursing2209-10842209-10922017-03-0130110.26550/2209-1092.1013Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical proceduresKate Kynoch0Linda Crowe1Annie McArdle2Judy Munday3CJ Cabilan4Sonia Hines5Mater Health ServicesMater Health ServicesMater Health ServicesMater Health ServicesMater Health ServicesMater Health Services Perioperative nurses recognise that family members experience increased levels of anxiety during the wait for a relative undergoing a surgical procedure. It is often during this time that little or no meaningful communication occurs between family members and health professionals. It has been suggested that a structured information intervention has the potential to increase communication between families and health care professionals as well as decrease family members’ anxiety. The aim of this study was to establish the effect of a structured communication program on anxiety of family members’ awaiting relatives undergoing surgical procedures. A quasi-experimental design was used with a sample of 129 family members of patients undergoing surgical procedures in a tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Consecutive sampling was used to recruit family members for the control group and the intervention group. The intervention group received a structured intervention which included an information card as well as an in-person nursing report. The control group received usual care. A demographic data collection form and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to collect data. Results from the study suggest that the structured communication intervention reduced family anxiety; however, results were not statistically significant. An important finding of this study was that only one relative in the control group received information during the perioperative time period indicating a need to improve communication between families and staff. It was concluded that more nursing interventions designed to reduce family members’ anxiety during the operative waiting period are needed. https://journal.acorn.org.au/index.php/jpn/article/view/287familyperioperative nurseanxietycommunicationinformation
spellingShingle Kate Kynoch
Linda Crowe
Annie McArdle
Judy Munday
CJ Cabilan
Sonia Hines
Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures
Journal of Perioperative Nursing
family
perioperative nurse
anxiety
communication
information
title Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures
title_full Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures
title_fullStr Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures
title_full_unstemmed Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures
title_short Structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures
title_sort structured communication intervention to reduce anxiety of family members waiting for relatives undergoing surgical procedures
topic family
perioperative nurse
anxiety
communication
information
url https://journal.acorn.org.au/index.php/jpn/article/view/287
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AT lindacrowe structuredcommunicationinterventiontoreduceanxietyoffamilymemberswaitingforrelativesundergoingsurgicalprocedures
AT anniemcardle structuredcommunicationinterventiontoreduceanxietyoffamilymemberswaitingforrelativesundergoingsurgicalprocedures
AT judymunday structuredcommunicationinterventiontoreduceanxietyoffamilymemberswaitingforrelativesundergoingsurgicalprocedures
AT cjcabilan structuredcommunicationinterventiontoreduceanxietyoffamilymemberswaitingforrelativesundergoingsurgicalprocedures
AT soniahines structuredcommunicationinterventiontoreduceanxietyoffamilymemberswaitingforrelativesundergoingsurgicalprocedures