Effect of informing family members of patients by phone call on their anxiety level during undergoing abdominal cancer surgery: A randomized controlled trial

This randomized controlled experimental study was conducted to determine the effect of informing family members of patients undergoing abdominal cancer surgery by telephone during surgery on anxiety levels. The study was conducted with family members of patients who underwent abdominal cancer surgery at Trabzon Kanuni Training and Research Hospital between December 2024 and March 2025. The study sample consisted of a total of 104 relatives of patients, 52 in the experimental group and 52 in the control group, determined by power analysis. In the study, the family members in the experimental group were called three times by the operating room nurse when the surgery of their relatives started, continued and ended, and information was provided in accordance with the content of the interview, while the family members in the control group did not receive any intervention other than the routine hospital procedure. Data were collected face-to-face and by telephone in three phases: preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative, using the Patient Relative Descriptive Characteristics Form, Patient Descriptive Characteristics Form, STAI State and Trait Anxiety Scale and Intraoperative Telephone Information Assessment Form. The identifying characteristics of the relatives of the experimental and control group patients were found to be similar (p>0.05). While there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of preoperative state anxiety levels (p=0.433); intraoperatively and postoperatively, the anxiety level of the experimental group was lower compared to the control group and there was a statistically significant difference between the groups (p<0.001). In addition, the interaction between the group variable and anxiety measurement times was found to be statistically significant, and the effect size of this relationship was determined to be high (Fb=237.640, p=0.000, η²=0.700). In conclusion, it was found that informing the relatives of patients undergoing abdominal cancer surgery by telephone during surgery decreased their anxiety levels. Accordingly, it is recommended that telephone information should be provided to the relatives of patients undergoing abdominal cancer surgery to reduce anxiety during surgery and this service should be improved and included in the surgical process.