Patients' and Carers' Experiences of the Postoperative Care Pathway Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A...

This study aimed to understand patients' and carers' experiences of the inpatient postoperative care pathway during Phase 1 cardiac rehabilitation, including patients' recommendations to improve its delivery, their engagement, and discharge preparation.

This was a descriptive qualitative study. Recruitment occurred over 1 month (February to March 2023) in a cardiac surgical ward at a large tertiary hospital. Adult patients who had recently undergone coronary artery bypass grafting and their carers were interviewed. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse interviews.

Nine patients and five carers were interviewed. Patients were mainly male (n=8), while carers were mostly female (n=4), with a median age of 63 years across both groups. Using content analysis, four themes were developed from patients' data: i) "I was unprepared for postoperative recovery in the hospital and at home," ii) "I was able to reach my goals, despite developing postoperative complications," iii) "I have preferences for the delivery of postoperative educational information," and iv) "I received varied support from family and friends during my postoperative recovery." Content analysis of carers' interviews generated two themes: i) "My loved one experienced a setback; I was absent and missed learning about how to support them," and ii) "I felt unprepared to care for my loved one, despite receiving information before surgery." Patients provided recommendations on tailoring the delivery of information to improve their engagement.

Patients and carers described mixed experiences of the inpatient postoperative care pathway during Phase 1 cardiac rehabilitation and varied levels of engagement.