Psykosocial tilpasning hos hjertekirurgiske patienter II: Patienters og ægtefællers oplevelser i tiden op til operationen

Abstract

Open heart surgery is accompanied by a high incidence of psychological complications. Systematic research covering patients' experiences is necessary for clarification of pre-and postoperative emotional reactions. In a previous paper, patients and design of the authors' investigation of psychosocial aspects of open heart surgery were described. The present paper focuses on the preoperative period. Passing through different phases preoperatively is seen to correlate with positive postoperative results. The importance of close contact with the staff is emphasized. In our results, agreement was seen between patients' experiences and staff perceptions of patients' experiences regarding emotional reactions. Differences of opinion as regards the extent to which patients used denial as a defence mechanism in ours and previous findings are discussed, as well as the different uses of the concept of denial as such. The patients reported satisfaction concerning the received information about operational procedures. ...