Abstract

Purpose: Comparing the effect of verbal education and education booklet on preoperative anxiety. Design: This study was a randomized clinical trial. Methods: Sixty patients were randomly allocated into three groups: control, booklet, and verbal education. The data were collected using Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory before and after intervention. SPSS (version 20; IBM, Armonk, NY) with analysis of variance and the dependent t test were used for analysis. Findings: After intervention, there was a significant difference between the mean scores of state anxiety scale among the intervention groups (booklet and verbal) with the control group (P \textless .05). The mean difference between the two intervention groups (booklet and verbal) was not significant (P \textgreater .05). Conclusions: According to the results, and given that nurses work under time pressure in Iran and other societies, it is concluded that well-designed education booklets can be used to reduce the preoperative anxiety.