Bridging the transition from hospital to home: effects of the VITAL telehealth program on recovery for CABG surgery patients and their caregivers

Abstract

The purpose of this randomized trial was to determine whether coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients and their caregivers who received telehealth follow-up had greater improvements in anxiety levels from pre-surgery to 3 weeks after discharge than did those who received standard care. Secondary outcomes included changes in depressive symptoms and patients' contacts with physicians. No group differences were noted in changes in patients' anxiety and depressive symptoms, but patients in the telehealth group had fewer physician contacts (p = .04). Female caregivers in the telehealth group had greater decreases in anxiety than those in standard care (p < .001), and caregivers of both genders in the telehealth group had greater decreases in depressive symptoms (p = .03).

Keywords: anxiety; caregivers; coronary artery bypass graft surgery; depression; health care utilization; home care; telehealth.