The Effect of Bibliotherapy Administered During the Preoperative Period on Vital Signs, Anxiety, and Coping With Illness in Adolescent Patients

The Effect of Bibliotherapy Administered During the Preoperative Period on Vital Signs, Anxiety, and Coping With Illness in Adolescent Patients

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of bibliotherapy administered to adolescent patients in the preoperative period on vital signs, anxiety levels, and coping attitudes using a pretest-posttest controlled experimental design. The main hypotheses:

H1: Bibliotherapy administered to adolescent patients during the preoperative period positively affects at least one of the patients' vital signs.

H2: Bibliotherapy administered to adolescent patients during the preoperative period reduces the patients' state anxiety level.

H3: Bibliotherapy administered to adolescent patients during the preoperative period reduces the patients' trait anxiety level.

H4: Bibliotherapy administered to adolescent patients during the preoperative period increases the patients' level of coping with illness.

Researchers will compare control group to see if vital signs, anxiety and coping with illnes levels. Bibliotherapy was applied to the intervention group, while the control group received routine clinical care.

The study was conducted with 90 adolescent patients scheduled for surgical intervention at the pediatric surgery clinic of a city hospital. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form," "Vital Signs Monitoring Form," "State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children," and the "Coping Attitudes Assessment Scale. In the intervention group, a three-stage process (pre-test, bibliotherapy, and post-test) was implemented; as part of bibliotherapy, the book "My Surgery Journey" was read to the patients and discussed individually to help them understand the surgical process and reduce anxiety. In the control group, only pre-test and post-test measurements were conducted at the same time intervals, without any psychoeducational intervention. In both groups, vital signs, anxiety levels, and coping with illness were assessed using standardized scales and measurement methods.

Inclusion Criteria:

• who were between 10 and 17 years old,
• literate (able to read and write),
• diagnosed with appendicitis and scheduled for surgery,
• without any prior major surgical interventions,
• who, along with their parents, consented to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Failure of the patient to recover physiologically on the 1st and 2nd postoperative days
• Presence of postoperative complications
• Early discharge from the clinic