News Release

Instructional DVD reduces MRI scan patients' anxiety and improves scan quality

A DVD designed to help people prepare for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, including guidance on how to relax, led to more successful scans

Peer-Reviewed Publication

British Psychological Society

A DVD designed to help people prepare for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, including guidance on how to relax, led to more successful scans. The patients receiving the DVD also felt less anxious during the scan says a paper published in the British Journal of Health Psychology.

Lead author Dr Rachael Powell from The University of Manchester said: "A successful MRI scan requires the patient to stay completely still as movement can reduce the quality of the image taken and potentially affect diagnostic accuracy. However, staying still in the scanner can be difficult for some people, and some patients do not manage to remain in the scanner long enough to complete the examination."

Some 83 outpatients who were due to have a MRI scan were split in to two groups. Both groups received the standard MRI Centre information leaflet which included safety information, information related to the appointment, technical features of an MRI scanner, data protection and the experience that might be expected. Only one of these groups received the study DVD.

The DVD contained two sections. The first was 'Preparation for MRI' and included information about the procedures to expect, information about what the scan experience would feel like, a demonstration of a patient undergoing a scan, and information about others' experiences of having an MRI scan. The second section detailed relaxation techniques and encouraged patients to practice the techniques before and during their scan. They were asked to watch the DVD at least once before their scan appointment.

Of the 41 patients who received the DVD, 35 had satisfactory scan outcomes. In contrast, in the other group with 42 patients, only 23 had satisfactory scans. A 'satisfactory' scan was one where patients successfully stayed in the scanner for the full examination and had high quality images (i.e. patient movement had not reduced image quality).

Dr Powell explained: "We found that the vast majority of participants found the DVD an easy format to use, with almost all participants viewing the DVD at least once, with over half the participants using it at least twice. Most of the participants found the DVD useful and said it helped them to feel less anxious and more confident about taking the scan.

"Given the high number of scans where either patients move in the scanner, reducing image quality, or where patients do not manage to stay in the scanner long enough to complete the examination, the finding that an affordable, acceptable and effective intervention can be sent to patients by post prior to their scan could have an important impact on patient care and health care costs." ENDS

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For further information contact the British Psychological Society Press Centre, Tel: 0116 252 9500 or email: presscentre@bps.org.uk

PR14.15015
Date: 12 February 2015

Editor's notes

Full paper title 'Improving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations: Development and evaluation of an intervention to reduce movement in scanners and facilitate scan completion'

Authors: Rachael Powell, Mahadir Ahmad, Fiona J. Gilbert, David Brian, Marie Johnston.

The full paper can be found here http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjhp.12132/abstract

This work was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and was conducted as part of Mahadir Ahmad's PhD at the University of Aberdeen.

About the British Journal of Health Psychology

The British Journal of Health Psychology publishes original research on all aspects of psychology related to health, health-related behaviour and illness across the lifespan.

Visit wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/bjhp for more information.

About the British Psychological Society:

The British Psychological Society is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK.

The Journals of the British Psychological Society form an essential part of the Society's mission to advance and disseminate psychological knowledge. With a publishing history spanning over 100 years, our journals portfolio is at the forefront of the psychology community with international contributions and readership.

For more information, please visit http://www.bps.org.uk of follow BPSOfficial on Twitter and Facebook

About Wiley-Blackwell:

Wiley-Blackwell is the international STMS publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit http://www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.

About The University of Manchester:

The University of Manchester, a member of the prestigious Russell Group of British universities, is the largest and most popular university in the UK. It has 20 academic schools and hundreds of specialist research groups undertaking pioneering multi-disciplinary teaching and research of worldwide significance.

The University of Manchester is one of the country's major research institutions, rated fifth in the UK in terms of 'research power' (REF 2014), and has had no fewer than 25 Nobel laureates either work or study there. The University had an annual income of £886 million in 2013/14.

http://www.manchester.ac.uk


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