Effect of designed self-care educational program on anxiety, stress, and depression in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia undergoing prostate surgery

BACKGROUND: Stress, anxiety, and depression are common psychological problems in prostatic conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of designed self-care educational program on anxiety, stress, and depression in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia undergoing prostate surgery. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study including 33 participants in the intervention group and 34 participants in the control group. During the study demographic data and the rate of stress, anxiety, and depression were measured. In the intervention group, self-care educational program was presented in two sessions and was followed up one month after surgery. Stress, anxiety, and depression were measured before surgery, and during and one month after discharge using depression anxiety stress scales (DASS-21), which is a standard questionnaire. Later data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Participants in the study were between 45-80 years of age. Student's independent t-test before the intervention revealed no significant difference in mean score of stress (P = 0.684), anxiety (P = 0.937), and depression (P = 0.727) between the two groups. Mean score of stress and anxiety significantly reduced in the intervention group on discharge (stress: P = 0.031, anxiety: P = 0.043), and a month after the operation (stress: P ≤ 0.001, anxiety: P = 0.016). However, mean score of depression revealed no significant difference on discharge (P = 0.514), and a month after operation (P = 0.221). CONCLUSION: The results showed that designed self-care educational program was effective in stress and anxiety reduction in patients under prostate surgery.