The relationship between anxiety and fear levels of surgical patients and their confidence in nurses

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between anxiety and fear levels of surgical patients and their trust in nurses. Material and Method: The sample of this descriptive-correlational study consisted of 150 surgical patients who were hospitalized in the surgical services of Ünye State Hospital. The study data were collected between June 2023 and December 2023 using the 'Personal Information Form', 'State-Trait Anxiety Inventory', 'Surgical Fear Scale', and 'Trust in Nurses Scale'. The data were analyzed in SPSS v26 Program and evaluated at p<0.05 confidence interval. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 50.59±16.82 years, and the mean number of total surgeries was 2.23±1.29. The mean State Anxiety Scale score of the patients was 42.61±10.15, the mean Trait Anxiety Scale score was 47.75±7.67, the mean total Surgical Fear Scale score was 37.17±20.90, and the mean Trust in Nurses Scale score was 26.09±3.88. It was determined that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between surgical patients' mean state anxiety scale scores and the mean trait and surgical fear scale scores, and a negative correlation with the mean trust in nurses scores scale. There was also a statistically significant positive correlation between the mean trait anxiety scale score and the mean surgical fear scale score. Conclusions: It was determined that the state and trait anxiety and surgical fear levels of the surgical patients who agreed to participate in the study were moderate, their trust in nurses levels were quite high, and there was a negative low-level statistically significant correlation between the state anxiety scale average scores and the trust in nurses scale average scores.