Term of Award

Fall 1993

Degree Name

Master of Nursing

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Department

School of Nursing

Committee Chair

Camille P. Stern

Committee Member 1

Marcella Hart

Committee Member 2

Rosalyn Roesel

Abstract

Critical care nurses are committed to managing not only the physical, but also the psychosocial needs of their patients. Because of the association between anxiety and deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system, the question of whether transfer of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery to another facility affects anxiety levels was posed. An recognition and understanding of the way that anxiety affects the compromised cardiovascular system will enhance the interactions between nurses and their patients. The purpose of this study was to determine if interhospital transfer for coronary artery bypass graft surgery affects patients' anxiety levels, which may, in turn, elicit ischemic episodes and prolong length of hospitalization. This comparative-descriptive study included a sample of 10 patients who were transferred for the procedure and 11 patients who had the procedure performed in the institution to which they were admitted. The convenience sample was obtained from 2 hospitals in a metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Hans Selye's "Stress Response" and Sister Callista Roy's "Roy Adaptation Model." The instrument used to determine anxiety levels was the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a 40 item self-report scale which measures anxiety in a specific situation and as a general trait. Demographic data was also collected. Descriptive statistics were used to measure and compare demographic data. The independent t-test was used to analyze the differences in anxiety levels and length of stay between the two groups. The results of this study disclosed no statistically significant relationship between transfer to another facility and increased anxiety levels or length of stay. No conclusion can be drawn based on these results linking interhospital transfer for coronary artery bypass graft surgery to an increase in either anxiety or length of stay, nurses should be aware of the impact that increased anxiety levels can have on the cardiovascular system. This study confirms the need for further research.

OCLC Number

1031375220

Copyright

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