Experiences of family caregivers of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery regarding the caregiver burden reduction program: a qualitative study

Family caregivers of patients undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery bear a substantial caregiving burden, which negatively affects their quality of life. Implementing supportive psycho-educational programs can play a significant role in reducing this burden. However, quantitative outcome measures alone do not explain how caregivers experience such programs, which components they perceive as useful, or what contextual barriers may shape implementation. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of caregivers of CABG patients regarding the effectiveness of a caregiver burden reduction program. In this qualitative phase of a mixed-methods study, nine family caregivers of patients who had undergone CABG surgery and participated in the caregiver burden reduction program were selected using criterion-based purposive sampling and interviewed in depth. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman’s content analysis method. The qualitative evaluation of the caregiver burden reduction program among the nine participating caregivers revealed 21 sub-subcategories, seven subcategories, and three main categories. The main categories included health promotion, efficient care, and challenges in implementing the program. Subcategories included physical health improvement, psychological health enhancement, and development of social activities within the health promotion category; strengthening caregiving knowledge, personal growth, development of caregiving competencies, and improvement of patient outcomes within the efficient care category; and inadequate internet infrastructure and patients’ physical limitations within the challenges of implementing the program category. The findings of the present study showed that caregivers of patients undergoing CABG generally evaluated the care burden reduction program useful due to perceived improvements in their health and increased caregiving efficiency. The findings suggest that educational content, behavioral strategies, individualized follow-up, and support for task organization may be important components of caregiver support. Inadequate internet infrastructure and patients’ physical limitations were barriers of implementation of caregiver burden reduction program. However, because the sample was small, single-center, and purposively selected, the findings should be interpreted as exploratory and may inform the design and refinement of future caregiver interventions. Not applicable.