The Effect of Artistic Activities on Anxiety, Spiritual Well-Being, Hope, and Vital Signs in Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The surgical process can cause high levels of anxiety and stress in patients, andabdominal surgery is particularly anxiety‐provoking due to the risk of severe pain andcomplications. Artistic activities can be an effective complementary method for reducinganxiety and improving mental well‐being and hope levels in individuals. Studies haveshown that activities such as music therapy and visual arts have positive effects onpain, anxiety, and vital signs in surgical patients. This randomized controlled trialaims to evaluate the effects of artistic activities on anxiety, spiritual well‐being,hope, and vital signs in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. The research will beconducted on patients undergoing abdominal surgery at the Department of General Surgeryat Dokuz Eylül University. The data collection tools used will be the "Patient AssessmentForm," "Vital Signs Form," "Visual Analog Anxiety Scale," "Spiritual Well‐Being Scale,"and "State Hope Scale." The intervention group will participate in mandala coloring as anartistic activity, while the control group will perform breathing exercises. Dataanalysis will be conducted using the SPSS 29.0 software package. Descriptive andanalytical statistics will be used in the data analysis. The results of the study willdetermine the effect of artistic activities performed on abdominal surgery patients inthe preoperative period on anxiety, spiritual well‐being, hope, and vital signs. Based onthe effectiveness of preoperative artistic activities in clinical use, a decision will bemade as to whether they are useful in preparing patients for surgery in the preoperativeperiod.