The effect of peer education on the anxiety - of post Coronary Artery Bypass Graft patients and caregivers in Rajaee Cardiovascular Medical and Reseach Center

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of peer education on the anxiety - of post Coronary Artery Bypass Graft patients and caregivers

Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery experience moderate to high anxiety, which has also been reported among their family members. Studies have shown that educating patients and their family caregivers has in many cases reduced their anxiety. Peer education and research on the effect of peers is of great importance in promoting therapeutic and caring goals.

This randomized clinical trial study was performed in year 2018 in surgery wards of Rajaee Cardiovascular Medical and Research center. In this study, 60 family caregivers of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery and their respective patients were recruited at the time of discharge from intensive care unit and entering into the surgical ward. The subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control group. Data collection tools included demographic information questionnaire and Spielberger's "State and trait anxiety" form. Initially, patients' family caregivers who were selected as peers were trained by the researcher in three stages. Before visiting the patients by family caregivers, their anxiety and also, patients' anxiety was measured in both groups. Thereafter, the patients’ family caregivers in the control group received routine training, and the patients' family caregivers in the experimental group received peer training in two sessions by their peers. In the third step, the anxiety of patients and their family caregivers in both groups were measured on the second and fifth days after intervention. The data were analyzed in SPSS 20 software.

Before intervention, the mean scores of anxiety in the experimental and control groups were not statistically different in both patients and their family caregivers, and the mean anxiety scores in both groups were moderate to high. After intervention, the mean score of anxiety in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group (P≤0.0001). Also, in the second and fifth days after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the mean score of anxiety of the patients and their family caregivers (P≤0.0001).

Peer education seems to reduce anxiety in patients and their family caregivers after discharge from ICU. It is suggested that peer education be used as effective and low cost education to reduce patient and family caregiver anxiety.