Positive Affirmations and Preoperative Anxiety

This study is a prospective, quasi-experimental design using a convenience sample. This study will include patients who are having total knee or total hip replacement surgery. Participants will be invited to complete an anxiety scale at the conclusion of the total joint replacement (TJR) education class, listen to a guided imagery and positive affirmations recording once/day for three days prior to surgery, beginning on the third day before surgery and continuing to the day before their scheduled surgical procedure, listen to positive affirmations the morning of surgery in the preop area, and then complete an anxiety scale before entering the operating room.

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Key information

Conditions

Total Joint Replacement Surgery Preoperative Anxiety

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

HMH Old Bridge Medical Center

Old Bridge, New Jersey, 08857, United States

Location contact

Paula O'Neill, MS, RN, HNB-BC, MEDSURG-BC

CONTACT

[email protected]

732-324-3217

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Scheduled for total knee replacement or total hip replacement at the study facility
18 years of age or older
Speak and read English
Have access to a smartphone, tablet, or computer

Exclusion criteria

< 18 years of age
Does not speak and read English
Does not have access to a smartphone, tablet, or computer

Treatment and study plan

Guided imagery and positive affirmations

Behavioral

Daily recordings for 3 days before surgery up until the morning of the surgery.

Primary outcomes

Visual Facial Anxiety Scale

Time frame: At baseline and immediately before entering the operating room on the day of the surgery

The 6 item Visual Facial Anxiety Scale (VFAS) is an emoji based tool used to measure preoperative anxiety. It utilizes 6 emoji faces that reflect levels of anxiety from none to high (corresponding to 0-10 scale, with 0 being no anxiety and 10 being the highest anxiety). .

The surveys are completed in the TJR education class, before listening to the guided imagery and positive affirmations, and after listening to positive affirmations, which is done in the preop area immediately before entering the operating room the day of surgery. The completion of the scale takes approximately 7-8 secs. Listening to the guided imagery and positive affirmation recordings takes 23:26 minutes, and listening to the positive affirmations on the day of surgery takes 3:11 minutes.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Paula O'Neill, MS, RN, HNB-BC, MEDSURG-BC

CONTACT

[email protected]

732-324-3217

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hackensack Meridian Health

Other

Registry information

Official study title

The Effect of Guided Imagery and Positive Affirmations on Preoperative Anxiety in Patients Scheduled for a Total Joint Replacement

Important dates

Study start: 2026
Primary completion: 2027
Study completion: 2028
First posted: Sep 21, 2026
Registry last updated: Sep 21, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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