Assessment of Endoscopy Fear: a Survey Study at a Major Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Objective: In this survey, we attempted to reveal the incidence and reasons of fear and anxiety caused by endoscopic procedures in patients who will have upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which is more common in this population. Methodos: The study included adult patients who had an upper gastrointestinal endoscopic appointment in the General Surgery Endoscopy Laboratory. The study participants were asked to read and complete two questionnaires while being observed in the endoscopy department before the procedure. Results: The study comprised a total of 145 patients, 73 of whom were men. The pre-procedure questionnaire showed that the anxiety scores of patients who answered yes to the question "Are you afraid of undergoing an endoscopy?" were statistically significantly higher than those of patients who responded no (T-Anxiety: p=0.003, S-Anxiety: p<0.001). When comparing the genders according to the responses to this question, it was found that the rate of yes responses was significantly higher in females [57 (78.1%)] than in males [30 (41.1%)] (p[removed]