Mutuality and preparedness of family caregivers for elderly women after bypass surgery.

The purposes of this study were to identify caregivers' feelings of mutuality and reported preparedness for caregiving at hospital discharge and to examine the relationship between these measures and the recovery outcomes of elderly women after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. A sample of 49 dyads was followed at discharge, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. The caregivers' Mutuality Scale (MS) scores and Preparedness for Caregiving (PCS) scores at discharge indicated positive feelings about the relationship with the elderly woman and their preparedness, and both measures were positively correlated with the self-report recovery measures at 3 months (p < .05). Nevertheless, at 3 months the MS scores were significantly lower than at discharge (p < .05), indicating stress in the caregiver-patient relationship. The MS and PCS may be useful tools for assessing situations and directing nursing interventions during discharge planning.