Figure 4

Results of the quality of life surveys for patients in the control and intervention groups. Patients were asked a series of four simple questions related to quality of life on the final day of the pre-intervention period (Day -1) and on the final day of the post-intervention period (Day 5). Scores represent the mean of each group on the basis of the Wong and Baker, 1986, faces rating chart which assesses pain on a zero to ten scale with an increment of two; therefore, the lower scores represent lower pain or greater happiness (0 is no pain, represented by a smiley face and 10 is worst pain imaginable, represented by sad weeping face). It is interesting to note the remarkable differences in the two groups when asked a specific question (questions two to four), with the intervention group showing much greater satisfaction than the control group. In contrast, the difference is much smaller between the two groups, with the control group indicating slightly more positive responses than the intervention group, for the more general question one.