Nurse-led web-based patient education reduces anxiety in thyroidectomy patients: a randomized controlled study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of web-based patient education on anxiety in patients scheduled for thyroid surgery. A secondary aim was to evaluate the patients' postoperative recovery outcomes. Design: This study is a randomized controlled trial. Method: The study was conducted at a university hospital in Turkey between September 2018 and May 2019 with 76 patients scheduled for thyroidectomy surgery and randomly assigned into two groups. Patients in the intervention group received web-based education, while those in the control group were given only routine care. Measurements were performed before surgery, on the day of surgery, and 1 week after discharge. Results: On the day of surgery, intervention group anxiety levels were lower than those of the control group, and the majority of early recovery parameters were significantly better in the intervention group than in the control group. One week after discharge, the intervention group patients' anxiety levels were significantly lower. Web-based education had no impact on pain, time in the operating room, readmission to the hospital after discharge, or length of hospitalization. Conclusions: Nurse-led web-based education reduced patients' anxiety regarding surgery. The results also show that it may improve postoperative early recovery. KEYWORDS anxiety, patient education, perioperative nursing, randomized controlled trial, web-based intervention