Arts-based research: patient experiences of discharge

Background: The knowledge translation capacity of cardiovascular research has had little impact on systems of care following discharge specific to the home period of recovery. Aims: The focus of this article is to provide an arts-informed dissemination in the form of a poem, to provide readers with the opportunity to engage with patients’ experiences on an emotive and visceral level. Methods: In order to explore 16 patients’ experiences of recovery from heart surgery, a narrative methodology was employed using journal writing and interviews. Research findings were reconstructed by the lead author into poetry, using words taken directly from interviews, to create a composite story of participants’ experiential accounts of recovery in the home. Results: Findings provide an intimate account of recovery as an emotional and physical experience that occurs in the isolation of one's home, interwoven with contemplations of mortality and unanswered questions. Conclusion: There is a need to implement and test interventions aimed at the care of cardiovascular patients during the home period of recovery.