Effectiveness of an “Information Card” in Reducing Family Members’ Anxiety in the Waiting Room During Heart Surgery and Angiographic Procedures

Background: Family members of patients undergoing surgical or interventional procedures are prone to anxiety while awaiting the outcome. What can even increase such anxiety is receiving inadequate information about the patient’s status from the nursing staff. Educating nurses about the means and ways to alleviate anxiety among the family members of patients can be timeconsuming and at times impractical in large hospitals. Accordingly, seeking to improve communication with patients’ family members, we designed an information card containing estimated procedure times, related telephone numbers, and other useful information regarding cardiac surgery and angiographic procedures. The aim of this survey was to assess anxiety status among the family members of patients undergoing surgery or angiographic procedures after receiving the information card during the cardiac procedure. Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted in a university heart hospital in Tehran (Iran) in 2016. The participants were selected from among the family members of patients undergoing cardiac surgery or angiographic intervention. The study population was divided into a control group (n=59) and an intervention group (n=59). An information card was given only to the intervention group in the waiting room. The data collected included demographic variables and the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory questionnaire. Results: The informational card diminished the family members’ anxiety level (P=0.016). The mean score of anxiety was 51.7±13.4 in the control group and 45.9±12.2 in the intervention group. Conclusions: Our results showed that the implementation of an information card decreased the level of anxiety among the family members in the waiting room while awaiting the outcome of their patients’ surgical or angiographic procedures.