Research by Dr Elvira Lang and colleagues found that patients with higher preoperative anxiety tend to experience greater procedural pain than those with lower preoperative anxiety. Pain and anxiety are closely connected to one another. Dental waiting rooms have one of the highest levels of patient anxiety, with 9–42% of patients experiencing anticipatory anxiety. These symptoms are frequently experienced before a medical/dental procedure takes place, as well as during the procedure.
Pain and anxiety are some of the most common and distressing symptoms experienced by patients in all clinical settings. This app could therefore be used to improve patient experiences and outcomes in a range of different clinical settings.
#Mtalk app trial
The results of their placebo-controlled clinical trial show that the self-hypnotic relaxation app is effective in reducing pain and anxiety in patients through short listening times in the waiting room. The app has been developed based on previous findings from Dr Lang’s team showing that specific word sequences can be used to improve patients’ experiences in clinical settings. Dr Elvira Lang – founder of Comfort Talk ® – and colleagues, developed a mobile self-hypnotic relaxation app to improve pain and anxiety management in clinical settings.