Heart of the Matter: Family
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Heart of the Matter: Family. Investigating the experience of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in patient’s families or their caregivers.
IRAS ID
325333
Contact name
Francesca Leone
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The “Adult cardiac (heart) surgery research group” in 2019 outlined post-surgical quality of life, including mental preparation for surgery as a priority for researchers. Surgery itself can be considered a traumatic event, especially if the operation was the result of an emergency such as a heart attack. While family members are not at the receiving end of stressors like the surgery itself, they may have directly witnessed the preceding cardiac event (1) and additionally face a multitude of responsibilities particularly in the perioperative phase of surgery (2). While immense support and mental strength is asked of those who care for patients undergoing a coronary-bypass surgery, little support is available to them, even though care-giver burden is a well-established issue in health care (3). The patients themselves can be those most aware of this impact and may consequently feel like a burden (4).
By conducting an interview and questionnaire-based study, we would be exploring to what extent care-givers or immediate family members are affected by their loved ones undergoing elective or acute coronary-bypass surgery and what factors are particularly distressing to them.
If results of this study suggest that there is a significant impact on family members or care-givers to CABG patients, it may be worth looking at a more holistic approach, where not only the patient, but also family members are involved in the care planning and able to receive support to enhance the overall recovery from major heart surgery.
REC name
Seasonal REC
REC reference
23/LO/0332
Date of REC Opinion
28 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion