Preoperative anxiety in women.

Preoperative anxiety and fear can have adverse effects on patients' perioperative experiences. This study emerged from a larger study in which the researcher examined the perioperative experiences of women. The purpose of this study was to further investigate and describe the nature of preoperative anxiety in female subjects. This article reviews the literature on this topic, discusses the results, and explores the implications of anxiety and fear on the perioperative experience. The author offers suggestions to improve nurses' assessment of preoperative fear and anxiety and ways to lessen such feelings in patients.