Effectiveness of an educational intervention on levels of pain, anxiety and self-efficacy for patients with musculoskeletal trauma.

AIM

This paper is a report of a study of the effectiveness of a pain management educational intervention on level of pain, anxiety and self-efficacy among patients with musculoskeletal trauma and consequent orthopaedic surgery.

BACKGROUND

Substantial evidence supports the use of preoperative education to improve patient outcomes. Educational interventions are common in preparing patients for orthopaedic surgery.

METHODS

A pre- and post-test design (quasi-experimental) was employed in 2006 with patients assigned either to a control (usual care) or an experimental group (usual care plus educational intervention). The 30-minute educational intervention consisted of information about pain, coping strategies and breathing relaxation exercises. The outcome measures were scores for pain, anxiety, self-efficacy, analgesic use and length of hospital stay and these were measured before surgery and on day 2, day 4, day 7, 1 month and 3 months after surgery.

RESULTS

A total of 125 patients completed the study (control, n = 63; experimental = 62). The experimental group reported statistically significantly lower levels of pain, less anxiety and better self-efficacy during hospitalization (before surgery to day 7), as compared to the control group. The experimental group had more requests for analgesics at day 2 only. There were no statistically significant effects on length of stay. At the 3-month evaluation, a statistically significant effect on anxiety level was found in favour of the experimental group.

CONCLUSION

Patients may benefit from this educational intervention in terms of relieving pain, anxiety and improving self-efficacy, and the educational intervention could be incorporated as part of routine care to prepare musculoskeletal trauma patients for surgery.