Article
Does a “continuous care model” affect the quality of life of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvn.2016.12.002Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Continuous care model has an important role in controlling postoperative complications in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

  • This model should be compatible with the needs of these patients and highly contribute to the maintenance and improvement of their health status.

  • The application of the continuous care model can promote health-related quality of life in patients after CABG.

The physical and mental needs of patients with coronary heart disease are affected by both the disease and the heart surgery in different ways. Such diverse needs require different approaches. A continuous care model, which involves orientation, sensitization, control, and evaluation, may favorably influence patient outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We were interested to ascertain whether a continuous care model might lead to improved quality of life, compared with a routine care model, in patients undergoing CABG. A total of 66 patients scheduled for CABG were identified and randomized to receive either continuous care (based on the continuous care model) or routine postoperative management for 2 months. The subjects' quality of life and its physical and mental dimensions were measured by the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey. Each dimension was scored between 0 and 100, and higher scores indicated better quality of life. One and 2 months after the intervention, the scores of quality of life and its two dimensions were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (P < .001). The application of the continuous care model can promote health-related quality of life in patients after CABG.

Section snippets

Study design

A total of 66 patients scheduled for CABG were identified and assigned to the case or control groups using block randomization to receive either continuous care (based on the continuous care model) or routine postoperative management over a period of 2 months. The first phase of continuous care model, called orientation, required 30- to 45-minute meetings and aimed to make the patients aware of issues related to CABG, motivate them to do well, and ascertain their individual needs. On the day

Results

Most participants were male (84.8%) and married (87.9%). They mainly had junior high school education (37.9%). The two groups matched in terms of underlying diseases and other demographic characteristics (Table 1).

Table 2 and Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3 show the patients' scores of quality of life and its dimensions based on the SF-12.

According to Table 2 and Figure 1, the scores of physical dimension of quality of life in the intervention group increased from 32.47 to 84.55. The values

Discussion

The results obtained showed a higher overall score of quality of life in the control group before the intervention. This may be attributed to the fact that the two groups did not match for exercise, walking, and daily activities. These variables were not among inclusion criteria in the present study. It is recommended that future studies include these variables to ensure better homogeneity of samples.

The above-mentioned findings highlighted the increasing trend of quality of life scores (in

Conclusion

In conclusion, the present study and the existing literature indicate that the continuous care model has an important role in controlling postoperative complications. The sensitization and involvement of patients and their families in the follow-up and care procedures (through the continuous care model) could promote the intervention group's quality of life compared to not only the control group, but also their own pretest state. This increasing trend is highly important due to the significance

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    Funding: This study was supported by Nursing Faculty of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

    Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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