The Effects of a Transitional Care Program for Patients Undergoing Colposcopy on Anxiety, Pain and Satisfaction

Abstract

     This quasi-experimental research aimed to compare anxiety, pain, and satisfaction between an experimental group receiving a transitional care program and a control group receiving standard nursing care. The sample consisted of 42 women with abnormal cervical cancer screening results who were scheduled for their first colposcopy at the Gynecology Clinic, Warin Chamrap Hospital, divided into an experimental group (n=21) and a control group (n=21) by purposive sampling. The transitional care program was developed based on Meleis's Transition Theory and consisted of four phases: pre-procedure, procedure day, post-procedure, and follow-up. Data were collected using the Thai version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Numeric Rating Scale for pain, and a nursing service satisfaction questionnaire, with Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients of .94, .85, and .94, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test.

     The results showed that after the intervention, the experimental group had significantly lower state anxiety (M=33.90, SD=5.700) and trait anxiety scores (M=39.67, SD=4.151) than the control group (p<.001), and higher satisfaction scores in all three dimensions—caring concern, service accessibility, and professional competence—than the control group (p<.001). However, post-procedure pain levels did not differ significantly between the two groups (p=.124).