The purposes of this study were to explore the relationships between uncertainty and quality of life indicators in patients recovering from coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and to investigate the differences in uncertainty and quality of life indicators between primary CABG patients and reoperation patients. The indicators of quality of life selected for this study were the patient's perception of health status and life satisfaction.
A convenience sample of 41 primary CABG patients and 11 reoperation patients who were five to ten months postoperative completed the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale (Community Version) (MUISCV), the General Health Rating Index (GHRI), the Cantril Self-Anchoring Scale, and a patient information sheet.
Uncertainty, past life satisfaction, and present life satisfaction did not significantly differ between the primary and reoperation patients. Both groups of patients perceived moderately low uncertainty, and were moderately satisfied with their present lives. Trends in the ratings of past, present, and future life satisfaction suggested that CABG surgery was associated with an improvement in life satisfaction and optimism for the future in both primary CABG patients and reoperation patients. Reoperation patients' perceptions of health status and projections of future life satisfaction were significantly less favorable than those of the primary CABG patients suggesting that the quality of life following CABG surgery is lower for the reoperation patients. Uncertainty was significantly negatively associated with perceptions of health status, present life satisfaction, and future life satisfaction. This finding suggests that higher uncertainty is associated with a lower quality of life in CABG patients who are five to ten months postoperative.
The findings were discussed in relation to theoretical expectations, other research studies, and the methodological problems inherent in the study. Implications of the findings for nursing practice were suggested. Recommendations for future research were made. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/27734 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Simurda, Lori Anne |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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