Impact of the Preoperative Telenursing Program on Preoperative Stress and Surgical Cancellation Rates in Oncological Patients: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a preoperative telenursing program on preoperative stress and surgical cancellation rates in oncological patients.

Design: Experimental post-test research with a control group.

Methods: The oncological surgical patients were randomly assigned to two groups. Patients in the control group participated in the face-to-face preoperative medical consultation and then awaited the date of the surgery at their residences without further contact with another health care professional. The intervention group, in addition to the preoperative medical consultation, received a telephone call (telenursing) from an experienced nurse who guided essential care to avoid patient-related surgical cancellation.

Findings: The intervention group presented a lower total score of preoperative stress level than the control group. Regarding the number of surgical cancellations, there were 14 cancellations in the control group, while in the intervention group, telenursing was able to reduce this metric to 0. As for the level of satisfaction, the telenursing program obtained an average of 97.65 points.

Conclusions: The oncological preoperative telenursing program reduced the level of stress and eliminated the number of surgical cancellations, showing a high level of satisfaction among patients.

Keywords: neoplasms; operative; preoperative care; quality indicators; surgical procedures; telenursing.