The effects of discharge training and counseling on post-discharge problems in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

BACKGROUND Advances in coronary artery surgery have reduced morbidity, mortality, and rates of graft occlusion. Discharge programs are important services for the continuity of treatment and must encompass physical, psychological, and social aspects of individual patient care. This study aimed at investigating the effect of planned discharge training and counseling on the problems experienced by patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS A semi-experimental study was performed on 100 patients undergoing CABG surgery in the surgery department. During a period of 9 months from January to September 2013, the patients in the intervention group were provided with adequate discharge training and counseling with a booklet before surgery and counseling until 6 weeks after discharge, while the control group patients received only routine clinical procedures, i.e. prescribing medicine, controlling vital signs, and wound dressing. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23. Frequency and distribution were used to describe the data, and paired sample t-test, variance analysis, Fisher's exact test, and Chi-squared tests were also used. RESULTS The reported problems for both groups had a descending pattern during the three follow-ups. However, this pattern had a greater slope in the intervention group compared to the control one. As a result of these education programs, problems were fewer in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Discharge training and counseling given to the intervention group had a positive impact on decreasing the problems that the patients had. Therefore, the institutions may be recommended to support multidisciplinary patient training and counseling activities using the methods described in this study.