The effect of video-assisted online preoperative education on fear, anxiety, sleep, and stress in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A randomized controlled trial

The impact of video-assisted online preoperative education on fear, anxiety, sleep, and stress among patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy has not been previously investigated. This study was conducted to examine the effects of such education on these psychological and physiological parameters. Ethical approval was obtained prior to the initiation of the research. The study was designed as a randomized controlled clinical trial and carried out at Bingöl State Hospital with 128 patients. The Control Group (CG) (n=64) received routine clinical practice, while the Study Group (SG) (n=64) received a 20–30 minute online preoperative education session the evening before surgery. The Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for anxiety, and the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) were employed to assess fear, anxiety, and sleep perception, respectively. Stress levels were evaluated using serum cortisol and serum glucose measurements. Assessments were performed at three time points: during anesthesia consent (T0), on the morning of surgery (T1), and postoperatively (T2). The video-assisted online education was delivered by the researcher, while clinical nurses previously trained for the study conducted the measurements and collected blood samples. Blood analyses were performed in accordance with international standards. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results indicated that patients in both groups were comparable in terms of demographic characteristics such as age, sex and BMI, with no statistically significant differences (p>0.05). At baseline (T0), no significant differences were observed between groups (p>0.05). However, at T1, serum cortisol and glucose levels were significantly lower in the SG compared to the CG (p=0.001 for both). Similarly, SFQ, VAS-anxiety, and RCSQ scores demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the SG (p=0.001 for all). At T2, differences between groups remained statistically significant for serum cortisol, serum glucose, VAS-anxiety, and RCSQ scores (p=0.001 for all). In conclusion, video-assisted online preoperative education was found to be effective in reducing fear, anxiety, and stress, while improving sleep perception among patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.