Effect of Peer Education before Coronary Artery Bypass Graft on Post Discharge Quality of Life

Promoting quality of life after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) is necessary in order to control the risk factors and reducing the probability of patient readmission. This study was conducted to determine the effect of peer education on patients’ quality of life after coronary artery bypass graft.
In this clinical trial, two patients with previous coronary artery bypass surgery were trained as peer educators. The patients who were candidate for surgery were systematically allocated to trial or control groups. Before the surgery, both groups received the post CABG self-care in the ward. The trial group (n=40) was taught by the peers, while the control group (n=40) received the routine teaching by the nurses. The quality of life was assessed before, one month and two months after discharging using the SF12 questionnaire. Multivariate Analysis of Variances (MANOVA) was recruited to analyze the data.
In the trial group, the mean quality of life scores before the surgery, one month and two month after discharging were 31.82±4.90, 28.06±3.83 and 35.82± 4.96, respectively. In the control group, the scores were 25.58±4.21, 29.31±4.03, and 31.56±6.91. The results indicated significant differences between the groups (p The CABG patients᾽ quality of life was significantly higher in the patients who received peer education in comparison with the control group. It seems that peer education may contribute in the patients᾽ self care and promoting their quality of life.