Pre-operative education programme for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery

Abstract

Patients who are about to undergo coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery may experience great anxiety, thus activating the stress response. This response can be detrimental to the already weakened heart. Pre-operative educational programmes have been shown to relieve anxiety and produce a better outcome after the surgery. To assist patients to cope with their anxiety, a pre-operative educational programme was implemented in two private hospitals in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. This is a structured programme consisting of an educational booklet, an educational model and an educationalist. In view of the fact that this programme has cost and time implications, the research was undertaken to determine whether a pre-operative educational programme would be of benefit and to describe and explore the patient's experience of such a programme for CABG patients. A qualitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual research design was utilised. Purposive sampling resulted in eight participants. The data were collected through individual interviews that were audiotaped and described. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed that the patients experienced the programme positively, and the recommendation was therefore that the private sectors in South Africa implement a pre-operative educational programme for CABG patients.