The perceptions of stressors in coronary artery bypass graft patients

A descriptive correlational study was conducted to compare the perceptions of 33 patients and their nurses of the stressors involved in the surgical procedure of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG). Five additional stressor items were added to the Stressor Scale developed by Carr (1982). Patients and nurses completed the questionnaires. Correlations and t tests were used to examine the relationship between the stressor scores. Overall, the nurses rated the stressors significantly higher than the patients. In the nursing group, nurses with more experience rated the stressors significantly lower than the nurses with less experience. These results were similar to the findings of Carr (1982). Implications for nursing theory, practice and research are discussed.