Challenges associated with delivering education to patients after heart surgery.

The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed description of the challenges that arose throughout the implementation of an individualized patient education intervention delivered to patients during their home recovery following heart surgery. The intervention was delivered at two points in time by telephone to patients following heart bypass and/or valvular replacement. The individualized patient education intervention was found to be effective in reducing the rate and number of complications developed during the first three months following hospital discharge. However, throughout the implementation of this intervention, specific challenges arose that included: onset of symptoms that interfered with intervention delivery, patient’s request for information beyond the scope of the teaching interaction, and the need to provide continued support to the therapist. These challenges were addressed throughout the course of the study and the strategies are currently being implemented into the planned knowledge translation activities associated with this intervention.