| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to describe the elements of a
hospital funded, community based cardiac home follow up program
which post myocardial patients and families found helpful
during the recovery period immediately after discharge from
hospital to six weeks post discharge. A retrospective
descriptive survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 96
program participants. Forty eight participants returned the
Cardiac Home Follow Up Questionnaire. The responses and scores
of the items on the questionnaire were analyzed with
descriptive statistics.
The patients in this sample found the elements of
information about physical changes, individualized recovery
plan, and the supervised, graduated exercise components of the
program to be helpful to them in their recovery during the
first 6 weeks after discharge from hospital. While patients
and families found that the weekly home visits from the nurse
were supportive, they also identified a need for more
assistance in strategies to deal with emotional aspects of
heart disease. The issue of family involvement in the home
follow up program also yielded some interesting data. While
most of the participants agreed that the experience of a
myocardial infarction influenced family functioning and
therefore, family involvement was a positive intervention for
their recovery, 27% of the sample opposed this idea. Despite
discrepancies in the family involvement content area, a
majority of participants acknowledged that the home follow up
program assisted them in maintaining lifestyle changes made
after their myocardial infarction. Finally, most participants
and family members were very satisfied with the program and
many viewed the experience as part of the comprehensive
cardiac care provided by their community hospital.
The findings are discussed in relation to the literature
on patient education and research on individualized cardiac
follow up programs. The implications for nursing practice,
education, and research are outlined.
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