Quality of Life in Cardiac Surgery: A Concept Analysis

Abstract

The concept of quality of life has been widely used in various fields, especially health and nursing. The
concept of quality of life in cardiac surgery patients requires a specific definition. Various experts have
defined the concept quality of life. However until now there has not been an agreement on appropriate
and specific definitions. The aim to present a concept analysis of quality of life from the perspective of
cardiac surgery. The method used in this paper was the approach of Walker & Avant (2011). This concept
analysis was carried out with the aid of literature on quality of life obtained through the internet databases
of CINAHL, Proquest, and Google Scholar. The key words of interest were “Quality of Life” and “Cardiac
Surgery.” The search timeline was adjusted to articles published within 1976 to 2019. This concept analysis
was performed using the 8-step method Proposed by Walker and Avant. This method is identification of the
attributes, antecedents and consequences of quality of life led to an operational definition of the concept of
quality of life as the individual’s perception of himself subjectively related to physical, psychological and
social behavior to be prosperous in his life. This concept analysis was able to show that, quality of life is the
individual’s perception of himself subjectively related to physical, psychological and social behavior to be
prosperous in his life. Quality of life will provide benefits to cardiac surgery patients: reduce length of stay
and maintenance costs, prevent complications and social isolation