Examination of anxiety levels of patients who underwent orthopedic surgical intervention before the first mobilization and related factors

Orthopedic and trauma nurses are thought to play a crucial role in the effective management of anxiety and fear related to mobilization. In this respect, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between anxiety levels and affecting factors of patients who underwent orthopedic surgery before the first mobilization. In the study, the relational descriptive research design was used. The study was conducted in the Orthopedy and Traumatology Clinic of a state hospital in the central Anatolia region in Turkey between June 2021 and January 2023. The research sample consisted of individuals (n:129) treated in the Orthopedy and Traumatology Clinic when the sample was collected and met the criteria. Research data were collected using tools Introductory Information Form, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Among patients who underwent orthopedic surgical intervention, 69.8% were female, with a mean age of 60.80 ± 14.78 years (range: 18-92), a postoperative period of 3.11 ± 2.21 days (range: 0-12), and a pain level of 5.22 ± 2.56 (range: 0-10). According to the research findings, the state anxiety score of patients who underwent orthopedic surgical intervention before their first mobilization was 46.64 ± 10.61 (24-71), and the trait anxiety score was 45.71 ± 8.49 (28-65). As a result of the analysis, the factors that contributed the most to the created model for state anxiety were determined as follows: patients' fear of mobilization (β = 0.376, <i>p</i> < 0.001), high pain score (β = 0.319, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and high oxygen saturation level (β = -0.242, <i>p</i> = 0.001). In this direction, it is recommended to consider the factors identified as significant in this study to reduce the anxiety experienced by patients before their first mobilization.