Cognitive methods of preparing women for hysterectomy: does a booklet help?

Thirty women about to undergo hysterectomy were sequentially assigned to three equal groups. The first two groups were taught methods of cognitive control over anxiety, either through a detailed booklet (group 1) or orally (group 2). The third group served as attention-placebo controls. The two experimental groups reported less pain and distress than the control group, who spent longer in hospital and were more prone to post-operative vomiting. The booklet proved neither more nor less beneficial than oral teaching on the criteria adopted, and is therefore seen as more cost effective.