Discussing diabetic retinopathy with NIDDM patients. An evaluation of varying the content of information given to patients and its impact on anxiety
✍ Scribed by McGill, MJ ;Molyneaux, LM ;O'Dea, J A ;Yue, DK
- Book ID
- 104514413
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1995
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 473 KB
- Volume
- 12
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1357-8170
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
There are no clear guidelines to assist health professionals in discussing diabetic complications with patients. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of anxiety‐provoking detailed content of complications information on NIDDM patients' levels of anxiety.
Four videotapes with differing levels of anxiety‐provoking content and detail within the content were used. After becoming familiar with each patient, educators selected a videotape they considered suitable for the individual patient. Patients were then randomised to: (i) viewing a videotape of the educator's choice (n=55); (ii) viewing a videotape of their own choice (n=45). Using a 10cm LASA scale, patient anxiety was measured before and after viewing.
Patient anxiety rose significantly after viewing videotapes with anxietyprovoking or detailed content, by 0.6 and 1.0 respectively. This increase was mainly due to the selection of one videotape which contained both anxiety‐provoking and detailed content, particularly when it was chosen by the educators. Factors which determined patient anxiety were, (A) before viewing of videotapes: (i) knowing others with complications; (ii) age; and (B) after viewing: (i) which videotape was viewed; (ii) age. Awareness of the term ‘retinopathy’ and previous consultation with an ophthalmologist were the best predictors for reduction in anxiety. Patients with NIDDM were prepared to learn about retinopathy, including the use of anxiety‐provoking materials. Less anxiety was generated when selection of information was made by the patients themselves rather than by the educators.