Videotapes for spouses of patients having coronary artery bypass and depicting varying success in coping with recovery had no effect on spouses' emotional outcomes.

Intervention 93 spouses were allocated to a mastery tape, 101 to a coping tape, and 102 to a control condition. The mastery and coping tapes provided procedural information (eg, lifting, exercise, diet, incision care) and sensory information (eg, emotions, sleep, appetite) regarding what to expect during the recovery period. They were narrated by a cardiothoracic nurse specialist, with descriptions from 4 actual CABG patients and their spouses about their experiences at hospital discharge, 1 week, and 1, 3, and 6 months. The mastery tape depicted these couples as calm and confident at discharge; no potential problems were mentioned, and the couples were portrayed as experiencing a relatively uneventful positive recovery period. The coping tape depicted the couples as coping with various difficulties successfully, but with effort. Spouses allocated to the control condition received standard hospital discharge information that is given to patients.