A Theory-Based, Technology-Assisted Intervention in a Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: A Feasibility Study

• Published in: Asian nursing research Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 180 - 190
• Main Authors: Chong, Mei Sin, Sit, Janet Wing Hung, Choi, Kai Chow, Suhaimi, Anwar, Chair, Sek Ying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Elsevier B.V 01.08.2023; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier; 한국간호과학회
• Subjects: Behavior; cardiac rehabilitation; Cardiac stress tests; Cardiology; Cardiovascular disease; Clinical outcomes; coronary heart disease; COVID-19; Education; Feasibility; Fitness training programs; Heart; Hospitals; hybrid; Intervention; Occupational therapy; Pandemics; Patients; Rehabilitation; technology; Telemedicine; 간호학; coronary heart disease; hybrid; technology; cardiac rehabilitation
• ISSN: 1976-1317; 2093-7482
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anr.2023.06.004

To assess the feasibility of a technology-assisted intervention in a hybrid cardiac rehabilitation program among patients with coronary heart disease. This study was a two-arm parallel randomized controlled trial. Twenty-eight patients with coronary heart disease were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, receiving a 12-week technology-assisted intervention (n = 14), or the control group (n = 14), receiving usual care. Guided by the Health Belief Model, the intervention group received three center-based, supervised exercise training sessions, a fitness watch that served as a cue to action, six educational videos, and a weekly video call. The Self-efficacy for Exercise, exercise capacity, and health promoting lifestyle profile II were assessed at baseline and immediately post-intervention (12-weeks). Among the 28 patients who participated in this study, 85.7% completed the program, with a relatively low attrition rate (14.3%). The number of exercise training sessions accomplished by the participants in the intervention group was 51.27 ± 19.41 out of 60 sessions (85.5%) compared to 36.46 ± 23.05 (60.8%) in the control group. No cardiac adverse events or hospitalizations were reported throughout the study. Participants in the intervention group showed greater improvement in health-promoting behaviors when compared with the control group at 12 weeks. Within-group effects demonstrated improvement in exercise self-efficacy and exercise capacity among participants in the intervention group. A participant satisfaction survey conducted immediately post-intervention revealed that participants were “very satisfied” (23.1%) and “satisfied” (76.9%) with the technology-assisted intervention. The findings demonstrated that technology-assisted intervention in a hybrid cardiac rehabilitation program was feasible and suggested to be beneficial in improving exercise self-efficacy, exercise capacity, and health promoting behavior among patients with coronary heart disease. A full-scale study is needed to determine its effectiveness in the long term. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04862351. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04862351.