Patients’ Anxiety in Coronary Care Unit: Comparison of Face-to-Face and Glass Visitation

Background: In Iran, the presence of the patient’s family is forbidden at coronary care units (CCUs), and the patient will be hospitalized without the presence of the family at these units. The issue of being away from family is one of the main causes of tenseness in patients of CCUs and has some side effects, such as isolation and seclusion, after discharge. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of face-to-face visiting and behind-the-glass visiting on patients’ anxiety at CCUs. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 80 random patients at the CCU of Dr. Ganjavian hospital, Dezful, Iran, by considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. The visiting time in both groups was 20 minutes, and the questionnaires were collected by the researchers from patients 10 minutes before and after visiting. Results: The average obvious and hidden anxiety in patients significantly reduced after the visit. Anxiety in the group of face-to-face visiting was more reduced than in the other group [face-to-face (P = 0.0008) and behind-the-glass (P = 0.02)]. Conclusions: Face-to-face visiting is an appropriate method to reduce anxiety in the patients of CCUs. It is suggested to adopt this method to improve the visits in this unit.