The effects of watching comedy videos on anxiety and vital signs in surgical oncology patients

Background: Cancer, a disease as old as recorded human history, causes patients pain and psychological problems. Watching comedy videos can distract these patients, relieving psychological issues without causing any further harm. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on patients who were candidates for oncologic surgery at a university hospital in Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 88 patients. Before surgery, patients in the experimental group (n = 44) watched comedy videos while those in the control group (n = 44) received no intervention. The Patient Introduction and Registration Form and the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used as data collection tools. Anxiety, measured by the STAI, and vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and oxygen saturation) were measured before and after the experimental protocol. Descriptive statistics, chi-square and t-test were used in the analysis of the data. Results: The pretest of STAI scores and vital signs were similar in both groups (p > 0.05). After video watching, the mean state anxiety score of the patients was 43.36 +/- 9.76 in the experimental group and 47.13 +/- 5.76 in the control group. The difference between the mean anxiety scores of the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in vital signs across groups (p> 0.05). Within group pre- versus post-treatment comparisons showed significant reduction in anxiety, diastolic and systolic blood pressures in the video group (p <0.05), while in controls, there was no significant improvement in anxiety and physiologic values. Conclusions: The results suggest that watching comedy videos has a beneficial effect on pre-operative anxiety and blood pressure in surgical oncology patients. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.