Effectiveness of an Interventional Program on Nursing Staff practices toward the Prevention of Post-Operative Open Heart Surgery Complications

Abstract

Cardiac surgery with a sternotomy is a highly aggressive procedure that causes extreme stress with local and systemic effects that change the organism's homeostasis and result in the development of postoperative problems. These complications vary in frequency depending on the surgical facility, the procedure, the patient's overall health, and comorbid conditions; they affect a number of organs, particularly the heart, lungs, and kidneys, lengthen hospital stays, impair quality of life, and may even raise mortality rates. The goal of the study is to see how effective the intervention program was in altering the nursing staff's practices toward the prevention of post-operative Open heart surgery Complications.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design has been applied with the use of the pre-posttest approach for study and control groups at an intensive care unit at AL-Nasiriyah Heart Center in AL-Nasiriyah city. The sample was non-probability (purposive). The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS.

Results: Statistically significant improvements of nurses’ practice toward the prevention of post-operative Open heart surgery Complications after the interventional program.

Conclusion: the interventional program was an effective educational tool for increasing nurses' practice regarding for Prevention of post-operative open heart surgery complications.

Recommendations: Nurses should be trained in the prevention of post-operative open heart surgery complications and more studies should be done regarding prevention of post-operative open heart surgery complications