Preoperative Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies among Surgical Patients: A Cross-sectional Study in Siliguri, India

Abstract

Background: Psychological stress is physiologically realized through the response that the body exhibits on threats and challenges perceived by the person when the demands of the environment require greater adaptive capacity than the person has. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the psychological stress level and coping behaviors among surgery patients at selected Hospital, Siliguri, India. Study Design: A cross-sectional research design Place and Duration of Study: the study was conducted at Astha Hospital, Siliguri between February 2024 to August 2024. Methodology: Total 150 patients undergoing surgery. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure psychological stress, whereas coping strategies were assessed by Brief COPE Inventory. Demographic information was obtained and a relationship among demographic variables and psychological stress involved Chi-square test. The correlation between the perception of stress and adapting coping was further analyzed using Spearman rank correlation. Results: The results showed that patients that had a higher education level used more problem-focused coping pattern, and those with a lower level of education mainly applied emotional and avoidant coping mechanisms (F = 45.999, p < 0.001). There  was a moderate negative correlation (rs = -0.549) between perceived stress and use of coping strategies that are statistically significant (t=7.99, p=<0.0001), which means that the higher the perceived stress, the lower the use of coping strategies. This suggests that the more stressed patients may be struggling to use adaptive coping responses. Conclusion: The article highlight the need to evaluate the psychological coping strategy and stress among patients undergoing surgical intervention, especially regarding education levels. These results lead to the conclusion that special preoperative work should be done in order to cope with the psychological turmoil and develop effective coping mechanisms.