This study was designed to identify stress of the families whose family member had been under open-heart surgery and then was admitted to the ICU. To give a baseline data in developing nursing intervention program.
Data were collected using questionnaires during period between November 11, 2001. and February 28, 2002. Subjects were the 74 families of the open heart surgery patient’s family in ICU of C National University Hospital in Gwang ju, Korea who agreed to do so participated in the study.
The stressor scale was evaluated by Parental Stressor Scales developed by Miles, Funk & Carlson(1993).
The collected data were analyzed for average, frequency, standard deviation, t- test, ANOVA by use of SAS PC+ Program.
The results of the study can be summarized as follows.
1. General characteristics of subjects were as follows: Two thirds of the subjects were approximately under fifties. More than 70% of the subjects was female and high school or university graduates. The relation of subjects to the patients was parents (42%) and spouse (31%).
2. The total perceived stress level score of the subject was slightly high (3.25). The highest scored dimension was ’appearance and behavior of the patient(3.51)’.
3. According to the general characteristics of the subjects, not clear differed as an age. For example, the difference was ’observation of the patients behavior and appearance(F=3.17, p=0.019), ’relationship of the patient and family role alteration (F=0.59, p=0.044)’ among the four dimensions.
Summing up, the patients admitted into the ICU after open-heart surgery, had been under those situation, the family members of patient suffered from pain and anxiety exacerbated by many sophisticated as complex medical instruments. As their family observed this, so their stress increased.
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