title: Factors associated with disability expectations in patients undergoing heart surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heart surgery patients' expectations have been shown to be related to surgery outcome, independent of medical status. However, it is unclear which factors determine patients' expectations about disability following heart surgery.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Investigating the associations of patients' disability expectations with demographic, medical, and psychosocial factors as well as other aspects of patients' expectations might help to tailor psychological interventions more specifically to optimize patient's expectations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-three patients were invited to a psycho-educational intervention to optimize expectations prior to elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Before the psychological intervention and before surgery, disability expectations, demographical, medical, psychosocial variables as well as patient and treatment related expectations were collected via questionnaires and patients' files. Associations with disability expectations were assessed using hierarchical linear multiple regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients self-rated disability (β = 0.50; p < 0.001) and beliefs about treatment efficacy (β = -0.42; p < 0.001) was independently associated with disability expectations. Expectations about the efficacy of patients' own health behavior as well as demographical variables, psychological distress, perceived social support, and measures of medical morbidity did not explain any additional variance in patients' disability expectations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CABG patients seem to form their disability expectations upon their perceptions about their current disability and their expectations about the efficacy of treatment. Patients' disability expectations appear to be independent from scientifically established risk factors and other psychosocial patient characteristics in heart surgery. Future research is necessary to further determine what factors psychological interventions should focus on to modify patients' disability expectations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps University of Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany, laferton@staff.uni-marburg.de.
authors.forename: Johannes A C
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Laferton
authors.forename: Charlotte J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Auer
authors.forename: Meike C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Shedden-Mora
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moosdorf
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rief
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000523:psychology*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome