The Effect of Discharge Planning on the Quality of life of School-age Children with Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Heart Surgery

Children with congenital heart disease after surgery require special discharge planning. This study was designed to determine the impact of discharge planning on the quality of life of these children. In this quasi-experimental study،60 children with congenital heart disease who had referred to Rajaee Heart Hospital in Tehran، were selected by non-randomized sampling method and divided into case group and control groups. Data gathering tools were demographic questionnaire and pedsQol questionnaire for children with heart disease. for the case group، according to the nursing process model، discharge plan was designed in the hospital in five sessions in the fields of detecting training needs، providing emotional support and follow-up care. The plan was followed up at home with phone call for 4 weeks. The members of both groups filled the pedsQol questionnaire before the intervention and one and three months after the intervention. While before the intervention the mean scores of the quality of life of children in the both groups were the same، it was seen a significant difference in their score after the intervention (P<0. 05). Discharge planning designed according to the care needs of children & their parents improved the quality of life of children undergoing heart surgery.