The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of video-based nursing education on perioperative anxiety and depression. A total of 128 patients scheduled for minimally invasive gastrectomy were randomly divided into intervention (n = 64) and control (n = 64) group. The. The anxiety and depression scores, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were assessed before the intervention, 1 h before surgery and 24 h after surgery. And the cortisol levels were measured before the intervention and 1 h before surgery. No significant difference was observed in baseline anxiety score, depression score, vital signs and cortisol level (P > 0.05). The anxiety level, depression level, SBP, DBP and HR of patients in intervention group was significantly lower than that in control group at 1 h before surgery and 24 hs after surgery (P < 0.05). The serum cortisol in the intervention group was also significantly lower than that in the control group 1 h before surgery (p < 0.001). Video-based nursing education was effective in decreasing the perioperative anxiety and depression of patients undergoing minimally invasive gastrectomy. It could also keep vital signs and serum cortisol levels in normal limits.
Keywords: anxiety; depression; gastric cancer; nursing education.