The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of preoperative teaching as a nursing intervention on the emotional status of the patients prior to surgery. The method of this study was Nonequivalent Control Group Non-Synchronize Design. The data were selected from H universuty hospital in Seoul, and they consisted of an experimental group-30patients, and a control group-30 patients. The questionnaire consisted of 28 Preoperative Stress Inventory(Kang, 1998), and 16 State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(Spielberger, 1972). The collected data were analized by means of frequency, percentage, x2 test, t-test and paired t-test with SPSS WIN. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The level of stress prior to surgery was significantly lower for the preoperative teaching group than for the control group(t=2.61, p< .01). 2. The level of anxiety prior to surgery was not significantly lower for the preoperative teaching group than for the control group. 3. The difference level of the anxiety level the prior to surgery was significantly higher for the preoperative teaching group than for the control group(t=2.82, p< .01). In conclusion, preoperative teaching is a beneficial nursing intervention that has a positive effect on the stress and anxiety of patients prior to surgery. Therefore it is recommended to use the preoperative teaching program as a nursing intervention for patients prior to surgery.
Anxiety ; Humans ; Nursing ; Seoul ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: We examined the factors influencing subjective memory complaints among community dwelling elderly in urban area. METHODS: The subjects of this research were 160 community-dwelling elderly people without dementia and major depressive disorder. The questionnaires regarding the socio-demographic characteristics were conducted by each person. They include Korean version of Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaires (SMCQ), Korean version of Short Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-K) and Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE). Subjective memory complaints were defined as above 4 points of SMCQ. RESULTS: 39.38% of the subjects had subjective memory complaints. There were significant associations between subjective memory complaints and SGDS-K (p < 0.001), physical illness (p=0.001), but there was no association with K-MMSE (p=0.383). CONCLUSION: There is a discrepancy between subjective memory complaints and actual cognitive impairments. This discrepancy suggests that the depressive disorders including minor depressive disorder and subsyndromal depression, might play a role in the subjective memory complaints rather than actual cognitive impairments in community-dwelling elderly people. Therefore, the treatments for the depressive disorders should be considered in dealing with the subjective memory complaints.
Aged* ; Cognition Disorders ; Dementia ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Humans ; Independent Living* ; Memory*