Preoperative anxiety among adults undergoing elective surgery is common, is perceived as distressing by many affected individuals, and is frequently associated with a desire for help or support. Numerous interventions to reduce preoperative anxiety have been investigated; however, for most approaches, the evidence regarding their effectiveness has been inconsistent. In contrast, various forms of counseling have demonstrated consistently favorable results. For example, a previous study conducted by our research group showed that an individualized counseling session lasting approximately 30 minutes achieved a substantial reduction in preoperative anxiety that was also perceived by the participants as a noticeable improvement. Unfortunately, a 30-minute counseling session cannot be incorporated into the routine workflow of preoperative patient care during the anesthesia assessment. Therefore, the primary objective of the study is to 1. determine whether a substantially shorter individualized counseling session (maximum duration: 15 minutes)—a duration considered feasible within routine clinical practice—can also achieve a clinically meaningful reduction in preoperative anxiety.To address this objective, enrolled participants will be randomly assigned to one of two study groups (see above), and the outcomes of the participants in the two groups will subsequently be compared. In addition, several other aspects related to preoperative anxiety will be investigated that have not yet been sufficiently or conclusively studied. Furthermore, aspects for which preliminary evidence has already been published will be re-examined in order to confirm previous findings. These include the investigation and evaluation of: 2. the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in the intensity of preoperative anxiety over time that is perceived by participants as representing a meaningful difference; 3. whether patient-tailored supportive counseling (see Objective 1) can achieve
Adult patients: - undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia or a combination of general and regional anesthesia; - who are not scheduled to undergo surgery on the same day as the surgical and anesthetic informed consent process; - who are admitted to the hospital no later than the day before surgery; - who report a desire for a counseling-supported assistance due to preoperative anxiety.
- Patients who do not have sufficient proficiency in the German language to complete the study questionnaires. - Patients who, due to cognitive impairment or mental illness, are unable to complete the study questionnaires or provide informed consent. - Hearing or visual impairments that would interfere with participation in a fluent counseling session or with completing the study questionnaires.
All data will be collected using questionnaires completed by the participants at six different time points, from the day before surgery until the first postoperative day. Primary Outcome Primary Endpoint 1 (Research Question 1): P1-a) Level of anesthesia-related anxiety as assessed by the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) (variable: dimensionless APAIS-Anxiety-Anesthesia (APAIS-A-An) score [range: 2–10]; outcome measure: Δ APAIS-A-An between the intervention group and the control group at each assessment time point), as well as by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) (variable: NRS-A-An score [range: 0–10]; outcome measure: Δ NRS-A-An) between the intervention group and the control group at each assessment time point. P1-b) Level of anesthesia-related anxiety as assessed by the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) (variable: dimensionless APAIS-A-An score [range: 2–10]; outcome measure: Δ APAIS-A-An) between baseline and the post-intervention values reported by the participant at each assessment time point), as well as by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) (variable: NRS-A-An score [range: 0–10]; outcome measure: Δ NRS-A-An between baseline and the post-intervention values reported by the participant at each assessment time point).