CAN DISTRESS THERMOMETER BE USED TO MEASURE ANXIETY INDUCED SURGERY

Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the Distress Thermometer (DT) as a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure the patients' stress because of surgery. Method: This was a methodological study conducted with 200 patients. Data were collected using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Distress Thermometer (DT) and surgery-related distress causes list (DCL) for preoperative patients. The validation of the Distress Thermometer was performed in conjunction with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Study results determined that the distress score average of the patients was 4.4 (SD 2.4), and the distress level of 47.5% of the patients was above this average. The sensitivity of HADS, which had a cut-off point of five or more, was 72.5% and specificity was 59.3%. The most expressed causes of distress were the development of infection after surgery. There was a moderate relation between the thermometer score and the total DCL score and the HADS total score. Conclusion: The distress thermometer can be used as a valid tool in determining surgery-related anxiety. And also distress causes list can be used to determine distress factors. In this study, the HADS was used as a criterion for DT-DCL, and according to this scale, the sensitivity of the thermometer was high, and the specificity was moderate. The tool can be retested by using different distress scales.