Addressing spouses' unique needs after cardiac surgery when recovery is complicated by heart failure

Cardiac surgery places extensive stress on spouses who often are more worried than the patients themselves. Spouses can experience difficult and demanding situations when the partner becomes critically ill.

To identify, describe, and conceptualize the individual needs of spouses of patients with complications of heart failure after cardiac surgery.

Grounded theory using a mix of systematic coding, data analysis, and theoretical sampling was performed. Spouses, 10 women and 3 men between 39 and 85 years, were interviewed.

During analysis, the core category of confirmation was identified as describing the individual needs of the spouses. The core category theoretically binds together three underlying subcategories: security, rest for mind and body, and inner strength. Confirmation facilitated acceptance and improvement of mental and physical health among spouses.

By identifying spouses' needs for security, rest for mind and body, and inner strength, health care professionals can confirm these needs throughout the caring process, from the critical care period and throughout rehabilitation at home. Interventions to confirm spouses' needs are important because they are vital to the patients' recovery.