Effect of Education by Multimedia Tools on Pre-colonoscopy Anxiety in Female Patients

Background: Colonoscopy is the most accurate tool for the diagnosis of large intestine diseases, allowing one to observe the inner wall of the large intestine; nonetheless, the invasiveness of colonoscopy causes anxiety in patients. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the effect of education using multimedia tools on pre-colonoscopy anxiety in female patients. Methods: The study tools were Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and a Knowledge questionnaire which were completed on the visit day. The patients completed the STAI and Knowledge questionnaire again before receiving the colonoscopy. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 24) using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Results: Based on the results, patients in the booklet group had lower anxiety scores on the day of the colonoscopy, as compared to their counterparts in the multimedia group. There was no significant difference between the control and multimedia groups in terms of anxiety scores on the day of the colonoscopy. Nevertheless, there was a significant difference in the knowledge scores of the three groups on the colonoscopy day, and this difference was quite evident in the multimedia group. Moreover, the results of the two-way ANOVA test indicated that an increase in patients’ knowledge on the days of visit and colonoscopy increased their anxiety on the colonoscopy day. Conclusion: As evidenced by the results of the present study, although multimedia tools increased patients’ understanding and knowledge of the colonoscopy procedure, they were not useful in the reduction of patients’ anxiety. Therefore, the use of multimedia tools for the reduction of pre-colonoscopy anxiety was not effective in patients with high levels of anxiety.