D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology) / It is an accepted fact that the incidence of coronary heart disease has reached endemic proportions in South Africa. One of the fastest growing clinical populations in this domain is that of the coronary artery bypass patient. As a result the facilities catering to the biomedical needs of this population are amongst the most sophisticated in the world. However, facilities for the effective psychosocial rehabilitation of these patients are relatively scarce. When they are addressed they tend to focus essentially on secondary emotional factors impeding reintegration back into society. A sadly neglected psychosocial factor and independent risk factor is that of the Type A behaviour pattern. Extensive research in this area has not only found this behaviour pattern to be detrimental to effective rehabilitation but has also found it to be instrumental in the reocclusion of grafted blood vessels resulting in an elevated re-operation rate as well as putting these patients at risk for a potentially fatal coronary event. In an attempt to address this problem a rehabilitation group intervention program adapted for South African conditions was launched. This program was based on the Recurrent Coronary Prone Prevention Project intended for the treatment of post-myocardial infarct patients in San Francisco. Essentially the aim of the project was to ascertain whether this intervention could be applied effectively to the coronary artery bypass population and whether its duration could significantly shortened so as to be more economically viable given the limited economic resources characteristic of the health care services in this country. The modified programme was administered to a group of 13 post-coronary artery bypass graft patients at two local cardiac rehabilitation centres. A second group of 10 patients at these same centres served as a no-treatment waiting list control group, while simultaneously undergoing an aerobic exercise and cardiovascular counselling programme. Results of the study indicate the modified programme to be highly successful in modifying Type A behaviour and its components within the South African context in the post coronary artery bypass patient samples exposed to it. Comparisons of the experimental and control groups after the intervention showed statistically significant differences on the majority of measures. Thus it was- concluded that the modified programme has the potential to be an invaluable aid in the treatment of .this population in South Africa. Presently, however, this sample is being monitored longitudinally in order to ensure that the treatment benefits remain.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:3874 |
| Date | 11 February 2014 |
| Creators | Venter, Albertus Johannes Etienne |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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