Enhancing Postoperative Pain Management in Cardiopulmonary Bypass Heart Surgery Patients: A Study on Nursing...

A majority of adults undergoing heart surgery involving cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) will experience acute pain.

To explore the effects of nursing interventions based on behavior change theory (BCT) on pain severity, pain interference, sleep quality, perceived control, quality of life, and self-care abilities.

A total of 53 patients undergoing CPB heart surgery in one hospital were enrolled. The patients were divided into Behavior Change Theory (BCT) group (n = 33) and Usual Care (UC) group (n = 20), among whom patients in the UC group received routine nursing intervention, while patients in the BCT group received nursing intervention based on BCT. Patients were evaluated for pain, sleep, perceived control, quality of life, self-care abilities, Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) questionnaires at baseline and after the intervention.

Individuals in the BCT group demonstrated reduced pain levels, improved quality of life, enhanced self-care abilities, and lower scores of the HAMA and HAMD scales compared to those in the UC group (all p < .05). Implementation of BCT resulted in improvements in perceptual control (p < .001), reductions in pain interference (p = .02), and pain severity (p = .03). Group effects remained significant in terms of perceived control and pain interference (both p < .05), with trends observed in pain severity after adjusting baseline difference variables (p < .10). Sleep quality, assessed by PSQI, did not differ significantly between groups (p = .288).

Nursing interventions rooted in BCT holds the potential to augment patients' perception of control, elevate quality of life, enhance self-care abilities, and alleviate pain after CPB heart surgery.