Effect of family support on preoperative stress among older adults undergoing general anesthesia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56922/mhc.v5i4.3779
Family Support General Anesthesia Geriatric Patients Preoperative Stress
Abstract
Background: Preoperative stress is common among geriatric patients undergoing surgery with general anesthesia because of age-related physiological decline and reduced adaptive capacity. Elevated stress levels may increase the risk of perioperative complications, delay postoperative recovery, and adversely affect surgical outcomes. Family support is considered an important non-pharmacological approach to improving psychological readiness before surgery.
Purpose: To determine the effect of family support on stress levels among preoperative geriatric patients undergoing general anesthesia.
Method: A quantitative study with a pre-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design was conducted among 35 geriatric patients scheduled for surgery under general anesthesia. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Family support was assessed using the family subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), while stress levels were measured using the stress subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test.
Results: Before the intervention, 48.6% of participants experienced moderate stress and 17.1% experienced severe stress. Following family support, the proportion of participants with severe stress decreased to 8.6%, while 14.3% achieved normal stress levels. The mean stress score decreased from 22.00 at pretest to 18.23 at posttest. Statistical analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in stress levels after the intervention (Z = −4.776; p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Family support significantly reduced stress levels among preoperative geriatric patients undergoing general anesthesia. Integrating family involvement into preoperative nursing care may enhance psychological preparedness and contribute to improved perioperative outcomes.
Keywords: Family Support; General Anesthesia; Geriatric Patients; Preoperative Stress.
Downloads
References
Berg, F. (2023). The buffering effect of social support on stress: A study of public sector managers in Sweden (Master's thesis, Lund University, Department of Psychology). Lund University.
Cing, M. T. G. C., & Annisa, R. (2022). Dukungan keluarga terhadap tingkat kecemasan pasien pre operasi. Jik Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan, 6(2), 403-408.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage.
Dewi, R. K., & Riyadi, R. S. (2023). Hubungan kebugaran jasmani dengan tingkat kecemasan mahasiswa keperawatan anestesiologi Universitas ‘Aisyiyah Yogyakarta. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat LPPM Universitas 'Aisyiyah Yogyakarta, 1, 498–503.
Fitriani, H., Mandaku, E., Tanto, T., & Gumilar, D. (2025). Hubungan dukungan keluarga dengan tingkat kecemasan pasien pre-operasi bedah mayor di RS Bhakti Asih Kota Tangerang. Usada Nusantara: Jurnal Kesehatan Tradisional, 3(1), 59–70.
Garjito, B. (2021). Hubungan dukungan keluarga terhadap tingkat kecemasan pasien pre anestesi di Rumah Sakit Daerah Mangusada. Bali Health Published Journal, 3(1), 25-36.
Jainurakhma, J., Arini, I., & Hardiyanto, H. (2025). Nursing Experimental Research: Analysis of the Effectiveness of Spiritual Support on Pre-Operative Patient Anxiety in the Central Surgical Installation. Jurnal Ilmiah Kesehatan Rustida, 12(2), 203-210
Kreca, S., Musters, S. C., Van Dieren, S., van der Wal‐Huisman, H., Romijn, J. A., & Nieveen van Dijkum, E. J. (2026). Psychosocial Outcomes in Patients Who Participated in a Hospital‐Based Family Involvement Program After Major Abdominal Oncological Surgery: A Preplanned Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study. Psycho‐Oncology, 35(1), e70373.
Mueller, R., & Moskowitz, L. J. (2020). Positive family intervention for children with ASD: impact on parents’ cognitions and stress. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(12), 3536-3551.
Nasution, Z., Nasution, H. S., & Marbun, A. H. (2024). Hubungan dukungan keluarga dengan tingkat kecemasan pada pasien post sectio caesarea di UPTDK RSU Haji Medan Pemerintah Provinsi Sumatera Utara tahun 2024. Innovative: Journal of Social Science Research, 4(6), 4461–4473.
Ni, K., Zhu, J., & Ma, Z. (2023). Preoperative anxiety and postoperative adverse events: A narrative overview. Anesthesiology and Perioperative Science, 1(3), 23.
Rashid, N. A. A., Rakapi, N. H. M., Johari, J., & Ludin, S. M. (2025). A systematic review on exploring the need for spiritual care in the perioperative phase among patients. Malaysian Journal of Qualitative Research, 11(1).
Setyawan, I. W., Koto, Y., & Daeli, W. (2025). The Effect of Qur'anic Murottal Therapy and Citrus (Orange) Aromatherapy on Anxiety Levels of Preoperative Patients: Pengaruh Terapi Murottal Al-Qur'an dan Aromaterapi Citrus (Jeruk) terhadap Tingkat Kecemasan Pasien Preoperatif. Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Keperawatan Indonesia, 15(01), 28-42.
Shawahna, R., Jaber, M., Maqboul, I., Hijaz, H., Tebi, M., Ahmed, N. A. S., & Shabello, Z. (2023). Prevalence of preoperative anxiety among hospitalized patients in a developing country: A study of associated factors. Perioperative Medicine, 12(1), 47.
Sugara, G. S., Syahputra, Y., Fadli, R. P., Zola, N., Putri, Y. E., Amalianita, B., & Fitria, L. (2020). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21): An Indonesian validation measure of the depression, anxiety, and stress. The International Journal of Counseling and Education, 5(5), 205–215.
Wahyuni, W. (2022). Dukungan keluarga berpengaruh terhadap tingkat kecemasan pada pasien pre operasi: Family support influences preoperative patient anxiety levels. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 2(1), 1–8.
Wahyuningsih, D., Purwati, Y., & Handayani, D. S. (2025). The effect of providing surgery preparation education on the anxiety level of pre operative patients. International Conference on Nursing Related to Palliative Care, 1, 28–38.
World Health Organization. (2020). Ageing and health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health
Yuan, C. D., Zhou, B. Z., Wang, N. Y., Wan, Q. Q., & Hu, Z. Z. (2025). Evidence-based control of stress response on intraoperative physiological indexes and recovery of patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 31(8), 102331.
Zietlow, K. E., Wong, S., Heflin, M. T., McDonald, S. R., Sickeler, R., Devinney, M., & Berger, M. (2022). Geriatric preoperative optimization: A review. The American Journal of Medicine, 135(1), 39–48.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 JOURNAL OF Mental Health Concerns
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
