Abstract

AIM:

This paper is a report of a study of the effectiveness of a pain management educational intervention on level of pain, anxiety and self-efficacy among patients with musculoskeletal trauma and consequent orthopaedic surgery.

BACKGROUND:

Substantial evidence supports the use of preoperative education to improve patient outcomes. Educational interventions are common in preparing patients for orthopaedic surgery.

METHODS:

A pre- and post-test design (quasi-experimental) was employed in 2006 with patients assigned either to a control (usual care) or an experimental group (usual care plus educational intervention). The 30-minute educational intervention consisted of information about pain, coping strategies and breathing relaxation exercises. The outcome measures were scores for pain, anxiety, self-efficacy, analgesic use and length of hospital stay and these were measured before surgery and on day 2, day 4, day 7, 1 month and 3 months after surgery.

RESULTS:

A total of 125 patients completed the study (control, n = 63; experimental = 62). The experimental group reported statistically significantly lower levels of pain, less anxiety and better self-efficacy during hospitalization (before surgery to day 7), as compared to the control group. The experimental group had more requests for analgesics at day 2 only. There were no statistically significant effects on length of stay. At the 3-month evaluation, a statistically significant effect on anxiety level was found in favour of the experimental group.

CONCLUSION:

Patients may benefit from this educational intervention in terms of relieving pain, anxiety and improving self-efficacy, and the educational intervention could be incorporated as part of routine care to prepare musculoskeletal trauma patients for surgery.