Predictors of health care needs in discharged patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to explore the health care needs of patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and identify the influential factors related to those needs. CABG is a current medical treatment for patients with ischemic heart disease. Discharged patients who have undergone CABG often have physical and psychosocial discomfort that can be intolerable. Understanding and meeting the health care needs of patients who have undergone CABG will facilitate their recovery. METHODS: Descriptive correlational research was performed. The participants were patients who underwent CABG and were discharged within the first month. A total of 103 subjects were recruited by purposive sampling from I medical center in the Taipei area of Taiwan. The structured questionnaires of the Symptom Distress Inventory and Health Care Needs inventory of patients who underwent CABG were used for data collection. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t test, 1-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regressions. RESULTS: The frequent order of health care needs were physical, informational, and psychosocial. The stepwise multiple regressions showed that the most important predictors for overall health care needs were length of hospital stay after surgery, symptom distress, and gender. CONCLUSION: Clinical nursing care should focus on patients who have longer postsurgery hospitalization, patients with more severe symptom distress, and female patients after discharge. The results of this study will provide a reference for developing nursing interventions for patients who are discharged after CABG. The optimal goal is to enhance the quality care of these patients. (Heart Lung (R) 2009;38: 182-191.)