This randomized controlled study will investigate the effects of guided imagery on preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain and analgesic consumption in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty. Conducted between September 2025 and June 2026 at a public hospital in Zonguldak, Turkey, the study will include patients scheduled for total joint arthroplasty following ethics committee approval. The intervention group will receive guided imagery twice preoperatively and once daily at 48 and 72 hours postoperatively. Outcomes will be assessed using the Surgical Anxiety Scale, surgery-specific anxiety scale, Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), and analgesic consumption tracking.
Patients who have undergone unilateral arthroplasty surgery,
Without cognitive impairment,
Who speak and write Turkish,
Without hearing or vision problems,
Having a diagnosis of chronic pain syndrome or neuropathic pain,
Having a diagnosis of psychiatric illness/being under treatment
Continuous use of analgesic/sedative medication that may affect the pain threshold,
Hearing impairment or severe cognitive impairment that prevents participation in guided imagery applications.
Parallel
Guided imagery technique application
Other interventionIntervention is a guided imagery technique designed for patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty. It will be administered in a total of 4 sessions: once daily on the day before surgery, twice daily on the day of surgery, and once daily on the 2nd and 3rd days after surgery, accompanied by imagery scenarios developed in accordance with the Compact Disc (CD) and literature developed by the Turkish Psychological Association. The study aims to examine its effects on surgical anxiety levels, postoperative pain intensity, and analgesic consumption. This approach is structured as a non-pharmacological method specific to surgical nursing practice and differs from previous similar studies in that it is applied in both the preoperative and postoperative periods using the same sample in the literature.
Surgical Anxiety Scale
The scale was developed in Turkish by Karanci and Dirik (2003) and is a 5-point Likert-type scale (1: Strongly disagree, 5: Strongly agree). The scale consists of 10 statements covering fears that patients may experience regarding surgery. The maximum score that can be obtained from the scale is 50. High scores on the scale reflect anxiety about experiencing pain, dying during surgery, and complications and restrictions that may arise after surgery. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for the scale was found to be 0.79.
Numerical Rating Scale
The NRS is a single-dimensional scale that uses 11 numbers (ranging from 0 to 10) to measure pain intensity. The patient is asked to select the number that best reflects their pain intensity, where 0 = no pain and 10 = the worst (unbearable) pain. The NRS has been shown to be a valid and reliable measurement tool for assessing postoperative acute pain intensity in adults and the elderly, as well as in elderly patients with mild to moderate cognitive impairment, and is widely used in clinical and research settings.
Analgesic Consumption Tracking Form
This form is used to evaluate analgesic consumption on the 2nd and 3rd days after surgery for patients in the intervention and control groups to examine the effect of guided imagery on analgesic consumption in the postoperative period. This form, created by the researcher, aims to inquire about and compare the analgesic agent used, the dose, the method and frequency of administration, and the analgesic agent used in case of need in the intervention and control groups.
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Ankara Yildirim Beyazıt University
Lead sponsor
Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University
Sponsor institution
This trial is not recruiting at the moment. You can still explore other options:
