Patient experiences of cardiac surgery and nursing care: a narrative review

Aim: The aim of the Narrative Review was to explore the patient experience following cardiac surgery and nursing care. Methodology: A Narrative Review was used to integrate the findings of different types of evidence in order to gain an understanding of the patient's experience of cardiac surgery and nursing care. Three key databases were searched; Cumulative Index to Nursing Allied Health Literature (CINHAL), British Nursing Index (BNI) and Medline. The review involved critiquing the methodological quality of included studies, thematic analysis and synthesis of findings. Conclusions: Patients experience physical discomfort and pain following cardiac surgery. The psychological experience of cardiac surgery is associated with negative emotions which are mostly related to weaning from mechanical ventilation and communication difficulties. Support from family is of high importance but patients value the support from other cardiac surgery patients. No studies intended to explore the experience of nursing care following cardiac surgery. However, patient experiences of nursing care were reported across the studies. Recommendations: Future research should specifically explore the experience of nursing care following cardiac surgery. Current PREMs Questionnaires are a step forward in patient experience measurement for cardiac surgery; however they are limited by their feedback method. Service improvement initiatives should utilise both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to obtain a multidimensional view of the patient experience.