CARE Qualitative Study

Over 30,000 people have heart surgery in the UK every year. Heart surgery is safe, but around 1 in 5 people having heart surgery will be readmitted to hospital in the year after their operation. There is no research that explains why they come back into hospital. It may be because they have a complication from the heart surgery, such as an irregular heart rhythm. Or it may be because they have other health problems which the heart surgery has made worse. Researchers want to find out what care is provided to people after heart surgery and what participants and healthcare staff think should be offered to prevent people coming back to hospital. The overall aim of this Programme Development Grant is to undertake preparatory work that will allow researchers to identify the best approach to improve care after hospital discharge for people having heart surgery.

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Key information

Conditions

Cardiac Surgery

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

Bristol, BS13NU, United Kingdom

Location status: Recruiting

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Patients who have had elective or urgent cardiac surgery such as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, heart valve surgery, aortic surgery (thoracic aorta) within the last 12 months
Family members/carers of patients who have had cardiac surgery in the last 12 months.
Patients who are no longer undergoing inpatient or outpatient follow-up by their cardiac surgeon

Exclusion criteria

Patients who have had cardiac transplantation
Patients who are still undergoing follow-up by their cardiac surgery team
People who are unable to provide informed consent
Prisoners

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

What aftercare do patients undergoing cardiac surgery currently receive after discharge from hospital and what kind of aftercare do they want?

Time frame: Through study completion, an average on 1 month

The aim of this study is to identify via questionnaire what aftercare patients, families/carers, want after cardiac surgery and what the barriers are to accessing it.

Interested in participating?

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

Other

Collaborators

University of Sheffield

Registry information

Official study title

Cardiac Surgery Aftercare and Recovery Evaluation (CARE) - Understanding Patients' and Carers' Views About the Care Received After Leaving Hospital Following Cardiac Surgery: a Qualitative Study

Acronym: CARE

Important dates

Study start: 2026
Primary completion: 2027
Study completion: 2027
First posted: May 28, 2026
Registry last updated: Jun 5, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

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