Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov 11;9(11):e032751.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032751.

Experiences of informal caregivers after cardiac surgery: a systematic integrated review of qualitative and quantitative studies

Affiliations

Experiences of informal caregivers after cardiac surgery: a systematic integrated review of qualitative and quantitative studies

Ann Kristin Bjørnnes et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To provide a comprehensive synthesis of informal caregivers' experiences of caring for a significant other following discharge from cardiac surgery.

Design: Systematic integrated review without meta-analysis.

Data sources: A bibliographic search for publications indexed in six databases (Cochrane Library, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED and PsycINFO), including a scan of grey literature sources (GreyNet International, Google Scholar, Web of Science, WorldCat and the Clinical Trials Registry) was conducted in October 2018.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Studies were included if they described views and perspectives of informal caregivers of cardiac surgery patients (non-intervention studies (qualitative and quantitative)), and the effectiveness of interventions to evaluate support programme for informal caregivers of cardiac surgery patients (intervention studies).

Results: Of the 4912 articles identified in searches, 42 primary research studies were included in a narrative synthesis with 5292 participants, including 3231 (62%) caregivers of whom 2557 (79%) were women. The median sample size across studies was 96 (range 6-734). Three major themes emerged from the qualitative study data: (1) caregiver information needs; (2) caregiver work challenges and (3) caregivers adaption to recovery. Across the observational studies (n=22), similar themes were found. The trend across seven intervention studies focused on caregiver information needs related to patient disease management and symptom monitoring, and support for caregivers to reduce symptoms of emotional distress.

Conclusion: Informal caregivers want to assist in the care of their significant others after hospital discharge postcardiac surgery. However, caregivers feel insecure and overwhelmed and they lack clear/concise discharge information and follow-up support during the early at-home recovery period. The burden of caregiving has been recognised and reported since the early 1990s, but there remains a limited number of studies that assesses the effectiveness of caregiver interventions.

Prospero registration number: CRD42018096590.

Keywords: cardiac surgery; experiences; informal caregivers; integrated review; postdischarge.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram of study selection.

References

    1. Neumann F-J, Sousa-Uva M, Ahlsson A, et al. . 2018 ESC/EACTS guidelines on myocardial revascularization. Eur Heart J 2019;40:87–165. 10.1093/eurheartj/ehy394 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Loubani M, Mediratta N, Hickey MS, et al. . Early discharge following coronary bypass surgery: is it safe? Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2000;18:22–6. 10.1016/S1010-7940(00)00467-X - DOI - PubMed
    1. Halm MA. Specific needs, concerns, strategies and advice of caregivers after coronary artery bypass surgery. Heart & Lung 2016;45:416–22. 10.1016/j.hrtlng.2016.07.001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ades PA, Keteyian SJ, Wright JS, et al. . Increasing Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation From 20% to 70%: A Road Map From the Million Hearts Cardiac Rehabilitation Collaborative. Mayo Clin Proc 2017;92:234–42. 10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.10.014 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Olsen SJ, Schirmer H, Bønaa KH, et al. . Cardiac rehabilitation after percutaneous coronary intervention: results from a nationwide survey. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs 2018;17:273–9. 10.1177/1474515117737766 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms