0 - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Biopsychosocial Effects Among Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Patients 56
researcher to assess current supportive behaviors actually enacted in the face of CABO
stress vs. past support. Although the five subscales have been confirmed through factor
analysis, it is unclear if modifications made reduced some of the reliability.
Another limitation that may have affected the reliability and generalizability of the
questionnaires used in the current study may have been the length of the items and the
amount of time it took to complete these items. There also may have been some
redundancy within the test items. Because the questionnaires were administered only
three months post-CABO surgery some participants may have had some difficulty
concentrating or may have rushed through to answer the six surveys quickly.
Participant Selection Bias
Selection bias was another limitation. Only Pennsylvania residents surrounding a
specific region serviced by one Cardiothorasic surgery center were asked to participate.
Despite the attempt at random selection, it may have not been random. First, participants
who were traveling more than 45 minutes often refused to volunteer to participate
because of the travel involved. Second, some residents did not have the means of travel to
be able to volunteer. Thus only a small percentage of the large available post-CABO
patients were able to participate.
Sample Bias
The sample was quite homogenous. Individual participants were post­
CABO surgery, from an urban setting representing various ages, ethnicities, educational,