The Use of an SMS Reminder in Postoperative Medication Compliance in Patients Undergoing Cataract Surgery and Its Effect on Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Study

This randomized controlled study was conducted with the participation of 82 patients in the ophthalmology clinic of a private hospital between July 2020 and February 2021. Participants who underwent cataract surgery in a private hospital constituted the population of the study. Based on the findings in the literature (Karaman Özlü et al., 2016) (mean score of the State Anxiety Inventory 27.54±3.25), the minimum number of participants to be included in the sample was determined to be 82 (41 subjects-41 controls), each group consisting of 41 people by predicting a confidence interval of 99.9%, an error rate of 5%, and a power of 95%.

Participants who were adults, volunteered to participate in the study, accepted randomization, could communicate in Turkish, had a personal cell phone, could read text messages or were illiterate and had a relative to help participants at home after discharge were included in the study.

Data Collection Tools The study data were collected using the Patient Identification Form and Patient Satisfaction Form.

Patient Identification Form: The form prepared by the investigater with the help of the literature (Gülşen & Akansel, 2020; & Lim et al., 2018) consisted of 8 questions examining the individual variables (age, gender, education level, marital status, comorbidity, working status and the patient's state of living alone, and the experience of cataract).

State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) In 1970, Spielberg et al. developed the State Anxiety Inventory, and Oner and Le Compte carried out its reliability and validity studies. According to 20 expressions with inventory, the individual may determine his or her feelings at a specific location and time. The State Anxiety Inventory are scored between 20 and 80. A higher score suggests a high anxiety level. The Cronbach alpha for Turkish version of the SAI was 0.94 to 0.96 (Öner & Le Compte, 1983; Öner, 2008). In this study, the coefficient of Cronbach alpha was calculated to be 0.93 for the inventory.