Effectiveness of GIANESIA (guided imagery in Indonesian) mobile application for reducing anxiety in preoperative patients †

Abstract Objective The use of technology is growing rapidly. It can also be used in nursing interventions. A technology pack can support nursing interventions. An application called guided imagery in Indonesian (GIANESIA) has been developed to reduce anxiety in preoperative patients. Methods A total of 42 participants joined this research. The respondents were those who would undergo surgery. We used the numeric visual analog anxiety scale (NVAAS) as the instrument to measure their anxiety levels. The participants were first given informed consent. Then, they open the application that has been installed. The process begins with participants choosing their initial anxiety score. Later, they start the therapy session, and immediately after finishing it, a pop-up bar prompts them to enter their final, posttherapy anxiety score. Results This study shows the effectiveness of therapy given by GIANESIA in reducing anxiety in preoperative patients with p -value = 0.000 (α < 0.05). Also, 61.9% of the participants had decreased anxiety levels after therapy with GIANESIA. Conclusions This study proves that providing therapy via a mobile application is effective in easing uncomfortable feelings, especially anxiety, in preoperative patients. Moving forward, the app can and should be expanded with new features and further developmental goals.