Can providing paging devices relieve waiting room anxiety?

AORN Journal, April, 1998 by Robert Topp, Eileen Walsh, Carol Sanford

RESULTS

The data were analyzed in three phases. Due to the exploratory nature of the analysis, statistical significance was set a priori at .05. The first phase involved comparing the two groups on the basis of the continuous and discrete demographic variables (Table 2). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the continuous variables and chi-square analysis for the discrete variables indicated that the two groups were similar with regard to all of the demographic characteristics studies.

TABLE 2 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF THE SAMPLE BY GROUP

Continuous                            Paging device (n = 29)
variables                             Mean [  or -] standard
                                          deviation (SD)

Age                                      48.4 [  or -] 14.7

Duration of surgery in minutes          199.0 [  or -] 135.7
Number of
personal surgeries                        2.1 [  or -] 01.8
Number of surgical waiting
room experiences                          4.0 [  or -] 04.7

Discrete variables                              n (%)
Gender
Male                                           6 (10.5)
Female                                        23 (40.3)
Type of surgical procedure
Orthopedic                                    10 (17.5)
Obstetric/gynecologic                         11 (19.3)
Neurosurgery                                   8 (14.0)
Reside with patient
Yes                                           18 (31.6)
No                                            11 (19.3)
Had previous surgery
 themselves
Yes                                           23 (40.3)
No                                             6 (10.5)

Previous waiting in surgical
  waiting rooms
Yes                                           25 (43.9)
No                                             4 (07.0)

Continuous                             No paging device (n = 28)
variables                                   Mean [  or -] SD

Age                                        48.3 [  or -] 12.9

Duration of surgery in minutes            174.6 [  or -] 85.3
Number of
personal surgeries                          2.1 [  or -] 1.9
Number of surgical waiting
room experiences                            3.3 [  or -] 3.1

Discrete variables                                n (%)

Gender
Male                                            10 (17.5)
Female                                          18 (31.7)
Type of surgical procedure
Orthopedic                                       8 (14.0)
Obstetric/gynecologic                           14 (24.7)
Neurosurgery                                     6 (10.5)
Reside with patient
Yes                                             21 (36.8)
No                                               7 (12.3)
Had previous surgery
 themselves
Yes                                             20 (35.2)
No                                               8 (14.0)

Previous waiting in surgical
  waiting rooms
Yes                                             24 (42.1)
No                                               4 (07.0)

Continuous
variables                        df        F-value        P

Age                              55         .00          .97
Duration of surgery
  in minutes                     55         .83          .41
Number of
personal surgeries               55         .99          .50
Number of surgical waiting       55         .64          .53
room experiences

Discrete variables               df     [chi square]      P

Gender                            1        1.60          .21
Male
Female
Type of surgical procedure        3        2.16          .54
Orthopedic
Obstetric/gynecologic
Neurosurgery
Reside with patient               1        1.10          .29
Yes
No
Had previous surgery
  themselves                      1         .48          .49
Yes
No
Previous waiting in
  surgical waiting room           1         .00          .96
Yes
No