WHAT IS THE EXPERIENCE OF CARDIAC SURGERY PATIENTS REGARDING THE NURSING CARE THEY RECEIVE? SCOPING REVIEW

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The patient experience is recognized as a key indicator of the quality of healthcare. Patients‘ expectations and experiences significantly influence health outcomes, including the effects of treatments in specialized settings, such as cardiac surgery. Cardiovascular disease is one of the world‘s major public health problems, and people who survive a heart attack become ‘chronically ill‘, resulting in economic costs to society. Aim The aim of this scoping review is to investigate and highlight the experiences of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, identifying which factors are considered significant and which have led to patient discomfort, in order to improve nursing care. Methods A scoping review was conducted in June and July 2023 and the scoping followed the guidelines outlined by Joanna Briggs Institute. The drafted review protocol is aligned with the PRISMA guidelines. The search for relevant articles was conducted using 6 databases (PubMed, Cinahl, Web of Science, PsycInfo, Scopus, Embase), and articles extracted from secondary bibliographies were also considered. All paper with a qualitative approach, as this is the methodology that provides the best understanding of the patient experiences about nursing care, written in Italian or in English, in the field of cardiac surgery and referring to the review question were included. Results The analysis of the qualitative data extracted from the 43 articles identified 4 themes – communication, perceived professionalism, nurse–patient relationship, patient needs, and criticality – and 43 subthemes, which were differentiated into 16 "positive" and 27 "negative" subthemes, depending on the meaning reported by patients. For each subtheme, the frequency of recurrence was calculated since they do not all have the same weight and recurrence. Conclusions This review has extrapolated from the patient experience which areas of nursing care are considered significant by patients and which need improvement and more attention. In order to increase personalized and patient–centered nursing care, it is now necessary to consider the experiences, and emotions of patients undergoing cardiac surgery to nip worries and anxieties in the bud, promote rapid recovery in the postoperative period, and foster improvement in the quality of nursing care.