Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objective: The study aims to assess anxiety levels of patients in an x-ray room and to explore the influence of an audiovisual intervention on patient experience taking individual differences in need for control and active coping style into account. It is well known that anxiety has a negative effect on clinical outcomes and overall patient experience.
Method: Patients were assigned to one of four conditions. Depending on the condition they were assigned to, they received an audiovisual intervention, information about the intervention and the opportunity to choose an audiovisual theme. Anxiety, willingness to recommend the hospital, satisfaction, need for control and active coping were measured.
Results: A total of 149 participants completed the study. Anxiety levels were low. Patients were most likely to recommend the hospital when they received the audiovisual intervention and information about it. Patients with a low active coping style were less satisfied and this effect was reversed by providing an audiovisual intervention.
Conclusion: The present study reveals that providing an audiovisual intervention and information about it increased patient satisfaction in a digital x-ray environment.
Introduction
A visit to a hospital can be a stressful experience for patients and can induce feelings of anxiety. Anxiety can be caused by a multitude of factors, including unfamiliar surroundings and noises as well as the feeling of loss of control and dependence on strangers. Besides these factors, perceived or actual risk of the medical procedure as well as uncertainty about the diagnosis and prognosis may provoke anxiety. It is well known that anxiety has a negative effect on treatment adherence and recovery time following a procedure. Moreover, anxiety may interfere with the medical staff workflow by increasing medication need and procedure time and may compromise diagnostic quality (eg, due to an increase in motion artifacts in magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]). Since various studies have revealed the profound effects of hospital environment on anxiety, satisfaction and clinical outcomes more attention is being paid to the patient experience when a new hospital is designed. Numerous studies have demonstrated that an improved hospital design has a beneficial effect on anxiety reduction, satisfaction, clinical outcomes and workflow. The present study was conducted to explore anxiety levels of patients in the X-Ray department of a hospital and to investigate the influence of an audiovisual intervention on patient experience (ie, anxiety and satisfaction) in this setting taking individual differences in coping style into account.