PENGARUH KOMUNIKASI TERAPEUTIK PERAWAT TERHADAP REDUKSI ANTICIPATORY ANXIETY LANSIA PRA-VAKSINASI MENINGITIS Di Klinik Idola Medical Centre Ponorogo

Therapeutic communication is a nursing intervention aimed at establishing trust, providing clear information, and reducing patient anxiety. This study aimed to determine the effect of nurses’ therapeutic communication on reducing anticipatory anxiety among older adults prior to meningitis vaccination at Idola Medical Centre Clinic, Ponorogo. This quantitative study employed a pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design. The study was conducted in April 2026 with 30 respondents selected using consecutive sampling. Anticipatory anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before and after the therapeutic communication intervention. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The results showed that the mean anticipatory anxiety score decreased from 57.30 before the intervention to 41.13 after the intervention. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test showed a significance value of p = 0.000 (p < 0.05), indicating a significant difference in anticipatory anxiety scores before and after the intervention. It was concluded that nurses’ therapeutic communication successfully reduced anticipatory anxiety among older adults prior to meningitis vaccination, as evidenced by the decrease in the mean score from 57.30 to 41.13 after the intervention.