ANXIETY LEVEL AND COMMON CAUSES: A HOSPITAL BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY AMONG PREOPERATIVE PATIENTS AT BUEA REGIONAL HOSPITAL

Background: Preoperative anxiety is a multifaceted phenomenon which significantly impacts patients undergoing surgical procedures. Despite recent advancements in surgical techniques and anesthetic management, the psychological burden associated with anesthesia and surgery remains a significant challenge for healthcare providers. Objective: The main aim of this study was to determine the level of anxiety and identify the common causes among preoperative patients at the Buea Regional Hospital. Methods: The hospital-based study was conducted among surgical patients aged 20 years and above at the Buea Regional Hospital. A consecutive sampling technique was employed to select the study participants and a total of 50 participants were included in the final analysis. Socio-demographic and clinical data of the participants were collected using a structured questionnaire. The Anxiety level was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Data was computed on MS Excel 2016 and analyzed using the IBM SPSS software version 28.0. Results: The mean age of study participants was 31.42 years and females predominated the study population. The overall prevalence of preoperative anxiety as revealed by the hospital anxiety scale was 76.0% (n =38, 95% CI:64.2-87.8%). Among participants experiencing preoperative anxiety, 22 (44.0%) experienced severe anxiety, 11 (22.0%) experienced moderate anxiety levels and mild anxiety was experienced by 05 (10.0%) of the study participants. The most common reported reason for preoperative anxiety was fear of surgical related complications (85.0%). Conclusion: The prevalence of preoperative anxiety was high with an overall prevalence of 76.0%. Most of the patients experiencing anxiety were found to experience severe anxiety. Several causes of anxiety among preoperative patients were identified including the fear of surgical related complications. The study recommends the adoption of appropriate policies and procedures for reducing preoperative anxiety among patients.