The Effect of Watching Surgical Videos on the Internet on Preoperative Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Elective...

We aimed to compare the anxiety levels of patients diagnosed with inguinal hernia in the outpatient clinic and scheduled for surgery by questioning those who watched a video about the upcoming surgery on social media platforms with their own means and those who did not before the operation.

Patients who were scheduled for elective inguinal hernia surgery at Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Hospital's General Surgery Clinic between December 2023 and May 2024 were included in the study. They were divided into two groups based on if they watched a surgical video on any social media platform before the surgery or did not. The patients were asked about their age, gender, educational level, prior surgery history, whether they previously underwent inguinal hernia surgery, which social media platform they watched the surgical video on, whether they watched the entire video, how watching the surgical video affected their anxiety levels, and whether they found the posting of such videos on social platforms to be beneficial.

Out of 185 patients who were given the questionnaire, 171 patients (92.4%) responded. Of the patients, 52 watched surgical videos, while 119 (69.5%) did not. It was determined that among those who watched a video of the surgical procedure, the mean age was significantly lower (p < 0.001), and the educational level was significantly higher (p = 0.013). In addition, the state anxiety level of patients who watched a related video was found to be significantly higher than that of those who did not (p = 0.023).

In patients scheduled for elective surgery due to inguinal hernia, watching videos of surgical procedure on social media platforms before the procedure did not affect their trait anxiety level but significantly increased their state anxiety level. Therefore, we recommend that videos presented to patients via social media be prepared by healthcare professionals who filter them through a certain level of education and expertise before they are offered.