Addressing spouses' unique needs after cardiac surgery when recovery is complicated by heart failure
published online 27 January 2009.
Background
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.
Objectives
To identify, describe, and conceptualize the individual needs of spouses of patients with complications of heart failure after cardiac surgery.
Methods
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.
Results
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.
Conclusions
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.
aDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Linköping University Hospital and Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Nursing Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping; and Vårdal Institute, Lund, Sweden
bDepartment of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Nursing Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
cDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden
dDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Linköping University Hospital and Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Circulation, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
eDepartment of Cardiology, Linköping University Hospital and Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Nursing Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
Corresponding author: Susanna Ågren, RN, MN, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Nursing Sciences, Linköping University, S-58185 Linköping, Sweden
Financial support was obtained from Linköping University, the Vårdal Instititute, the Vårdal Foundation, and the Swedish Research Council.
ABSTRACT