Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41233781›Full record

ArticleBMC nursing2025

Effect of stress ball use before cholecystectomy surgery on surgical fear, anxiety and comfort of patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Hatice Merve Alptekin, Seval Ulubay, Seda Cansu Yeniğün Akbulut

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06345768 (Effect of Stress Ball Applied Before Cholecystectomy Surgery on Surgical Fear, Anxiety and Comfort of Patients), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06345768 nacompletednot on this map

Effect of Stress Ball Applied Before Cholecystectomy Surgery on Surgical Fear, Anxiety and Comfort of Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorAkdeniz UniversityRan2024 to 2024Enrolled90ConditionsCholecystitis, Stress, Fear, ComfortArmsStress Ball
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hatice Merve AlptekinDepartment of Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Türkiye. imervealptekini@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4544-7987
Seval UlubayHealthcare Facility Evaluation Unit, Samsun Gazi State Hospital, Samsun, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9557-2674
Seda Cansu Yeniğün AkbulutDepartment of Surgical Nursing, Kumluca Faculty of Health Sciences, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9712-9171

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThinking about surgery generally causes fear and anxiety among patients. These negative feelings may affect the healing process. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a stress ball on surgical fear, anxiety and comfort among patients undergoing cholecystectomy.

methodThis randomized controlled study was performed with 90 patients from 03 April to 30 November 2024 in the preoperative waiting unit of an operating room in a public hospital. The intervention group received stress balls before surgery, and the control group received no intervention. The participants were randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups. Data were collected before and after the intervention via the Patient Description Form, Surgical Fear Questionnaire, Visual Analog Scale-Anxiety (VAS-A) and General Comfort Questionnaire. The data were analysed via the SPSS version 27.0 program. Descriptive statistics, t tests, Pearson chi-square tests, and stepwise multiple linear regression were applied, with significance set at p < 0.05.

resultsIn terms of the measures taken after the stress ball intervention, patients in the intervention group had significantly lower surgical fear (t = 8.607; p < 0.001) and anxiety (t = 10.776; p < 0.001), whereas the general comfort level was greater (t = 15.765; p < 0.001). When the surgical fear subscales were investigated, the intervention group had lower values for both short- and long-term surgical fear than did the control group (t = 8.480 and 8.613; p < 0.001).

conclusionStress balls appear to be effective, low-cost, mobile and practical tools for reducing preoperative fear and anxiety while increasing patient comfort. Their integration into routine nursing practice as a nonpharmacological intervention could contribute to better emotional preparedness and potentially improve overall surgical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION NO: NCT06345768 (Registration date:02.04.2024) https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06345768 .

Indexed as

AnxietyCholecystectomyComfortStress ballSurgical fear

Identifiers

PMID41233781
PMCPMC12616914

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.