Ureteroscopy (URS) is an up-to-date method that is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of ureteral diseases. Apart from the diagnostic purposes of URS, the most common use is to intervene in ureteral stones. The vast majority of ureteral stones are treated endoscopically. A Double-J (DJ) stent is often placed after ureteroscopy. The purpose of the stent is to prevent obstruction, renal colic, and deterioration of renal function. The fact that the DJ stent will remain in the patient for a certain period of time (approximately 3-4 weeks) causes anxiety in the patient. However, approximately 80% of patients with DJ stent implantation have urinary system symptoms that impair their quality of life. Frequent urination (50-60%), sudden urge to urinate (57-60%), pain on urination (40%), incomplete evacuation (76%), flank pain (19-32%), suprapubic pain (30%) , incontinence and hematuria (25%) are the symptoms seen. Patients with DJ stent implanted after ureteroscopy surgery need more information, support, explanation and help to cope with the effects of these symptoms in the clinic and at home. In this context, it is important to provide an individualized and comprehensive education that includes the home care process before and after the URS. It has been determined in the literature that training before surgery reduces anxiety, pain level, complication and depression rates, and increases patient satisfaction in the postoperative period. No study has been found in the literature examining the effects of education given to patients with URS on their post-operative anxiety and readiness for discharge. In this context, this study will provide evidence-based data to the literature by investigating the effects of training given to patients with URS and DJ stent implantation on pre- and postoperative anxiety and readiness for discharge.
The data of the randomized controlled experimental research were collected at Atatürk University Health Application and Research Hospital Urology Clinics between November 2021 and May 2022. The study sample consisted of 122 patients (61 in the training group, 61 in the control group) who were selected by the simple random sampling method and met the research inclusion criteria.