The effect of process information given by preoperative nurses on patient anxiety in foreign patients

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of process information given by nurses before surgical intervention on patient anxiety in foreign patients. The research was carried out between October 2024 and May 2025 with 200 foreign patients who agreed to participate in the study out of 700 French and English-speaking patients who came to the private health institution on the Anatolian side of Istanbul for surgical intervention in the Surgical Service. 58.5% of the participants were between the ages of 36-65, 59.5% were female, 70.5% were married, 56.5% had a bachelor's degree and 25% had a master's degree or higher. After the decision to intervene surgically, the mean anesthesia-related anxiety score was 2.11 ± 0.75; The mean score of anxiety due to surgical procedure was found to be 3.66 ± 1.15. After the preoperative information procedures, the mean anesthesia-related anxiety score was 1.08 ± 0.28; The mean anxiety score due to surgical procedure decreased from 1.42 ± to 0.50. A statistically significant difference was found between the APAIS scores after the decision of surgical intervention and after the information procedures performed before the surgical intervention in each of the 6 questions (p<0.001). According to the results obtained, it was determined that informing the nurses who speak the same language as the patient in the pre-intervention period was effective in reducing the anxiety of the patients about the surgical intervention. Accordingly, it is recommended that the Ministry of Health encourage the increase in the number of nurses who speak foreign languages in health institutions.