Impact of doctor-patient communication on preoperative anxiety: Study at industrial township, Pimpri, Pune

BACKGROUND: Anxiety may not be recognized by physicians though they affect a large number of patients awaiting surgery as reported in some studies. Good doctor-patient communication may have an impact on preoperative anxiety. AIM: To find out the incidence of anxiety in patients awaiting surgery and its association with good doctor-patient communication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was undertaken in a medical college hospital situated in an industrial township, for the duration of two months. It was a cross-sectional study. The study included 79 patients admitted to various surgical wards of a teaching hospital. Data was collected on a pretested questionnaire, which included a set of questions on various aspects of doctor-patient communication. The level of anxiety was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Statistical analysis was carried out using the WHO/CDC package EPI INFO 2002. Though preoperative anxiety was collected on an ordinal scale, later during analysis, it was collapsed to give a categorical scale. Aspects of doctor-patient communication associated with preoperative anxiety were explored by Chi square tests. RESULTS: Out of the total 79 patients, 26.5% reported definite anxiety levels. Good doctor-patient communication was found to be inversely associated with anxiety levels in the preoperative period. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative anxiety is a common phenomenon among indoor surgical patients. A lot can be done to alleviate this anxiety by improving doctor-patient communication.