Dr. Dell Mars
Southeastern Louisiana University, USATitle: Perceived stress level of the postoperative coronary artery bypass graft patients in the intensive care unit
Abstract
Objective: The
purpose of this study was to measure the level of stress perceived by
postoperative Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) patients. Coronary artery
bypass graft is the most used surgical intervention to treat patients with
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Many patients consider CABG surgery as life
threatening and stressful. There is a need for nurses to be aware of the
patient’s perception of stress to create a more therapeutic environment within
the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Methods: The
research method was a quantitative descriptive survey design and descriptive
statistics were used for data analysis. A convenience sampling method was used
resulting in a sample size of 60 participants who had recently undergone a CABG
surgical procedure. The participants completed the Intensive Care Unit
Environmental Stressor Scale (ICUESS) survey.
Results: The
results of the ICUESS survey were analyzed according to rank order and mean
with standard deviation scores for each of the 40 items. Findings showed the
following stressors were ranked as the highest level of stress: “Being in
pain”, “missing your husband or wife”, “having tubes in your nose or
mouth”, and “only seeing family and friends for a few minutes each day.”
Conclusions: The
participants in this study were not highly stressed. Pain was the highest
ranked stressor. Nurses need to be aware of the perceived level of stress
by the postoperative CABG patients to reduce stressors and enhance recovery.
Biography
Dell Mars has completed her Ph.D. from Hampton University, USA. She is a tenured track assistant professor at Southeastern Louisiana University College of Nursing and Health Sciences, USA. She has multiple publications and disseminate nursing research at numerous professional local, national, and global nursing conferences. As a mentor with the American Nurses Association Mentorship Program, She provides guidance and support for graduate nursing students. She currently serves as the President of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, Rho Zeta Chapter, USA. She has been serving as an editorial board member of Journal of Quality in Health Care & Economics (JQHE).