Exploration of treatment compliance behaviors in diabetic patients who undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background: Coronary artery bypass surgery has an average recurrence rate of 10 to 20%, which generally results in the need for a reoperation and keeping close track of treatments and unhealthy lifestyle indicators. This situation negatively impacts the quality of life of patients and increases the costs of medical care. Purpose: This paper explores the factors related to the compliance behavior of post‐coronary‐bypass diabetes patients and develops a model to improve the healthcare and medical compliance of this population. Methods: This cross‐sectional study used convenience sampling to recruit diabetes patients who had received coronary artery bypass surgery at one of the largest medical hospitals in northern Taiwan. The 166 participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire that included questions on basic demographics, type of diabetes treatment, cardiovascular health status, and treatment compliance behavior. Results: A total of 34.9% of participants were identified with poor compliance behavior. Most non‐compliance behavior began to appear at 1 to 3 years post‐surgery. Patients with the best compliance behavior performed the best in the category of diet control followed by medication compliance. Lifestyle change was identified as the least important behavior. The results show that the longer the duration since CABG surgery treatment, the better that treatment compliance behaviors were. The findings also indicate that satisfaction with living environment, length of time since surgery, and the side effects of medication explained the variance in treatment compliance behaviors in participants (F = 4.039, p = .046). Implications for Practice: Healthcare workers should teach family dietary changes and control. Patients should receive education on regular medication and healthy habits. Furthermore, programs that improve living conditions may help patients comply with appropriate behavior therapy.