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A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
Regional Variability in the Access to Cardiac Rehabilitation in Poland
Maciej Jankowiak1, Justyna Rój2
1Department of Organization and Healthcare Management, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, ul. Przybyszewskiego 39, 60-356 Poznań, Poland.
Insights
Cardiac rehabilitation access in Poland shows slight regional variation despite underutilization. Research identified voivodeships with good and poor access to these vital cardiovascular disease services.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality and disability globally.
- Cardiac rehabilitation is crucial for preventing and treating circulatory diseases but is underutilized in Poland.
- Underutilization of cardiac rehabilitation services contributes to increased healthcare costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the geographical accessibility of cardiac rehabilitation services in Poland.
- To identify regional disparities in access to cardiac rehabilitation.
- To classify Polish voivodeships based on cardiac rehabilitation service availability.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Perkal's method for geographical accessibility analysis.
- Assessed regional variations in cardiac rehabilitation service availability.
- Classified voivodeships according to access levels.
Main Results:
- Identified slight regional variability in access to cardiac rehabilitation services across Poland.
- Recognized a sufficient development of rehabilitation infrastructure.
- Classified voivodeships into categories of good, very good, low, and very low access.
Conclusions:
- Despite slight regional variations, Poland possesses a generally sufficient rehabilitation infrastructure.
- Targeted interventions may be needed in voivodeships with lower access to cardiac rehabilitation.
- Improving equitable access to cardiac rehabilitation is key to managing cardiovascular disease burden.
Abstract:
Equitable access to cardiological rehabilitation services is one of the important elements in the effectiveness of the treatment of cardiovascular diseases as cardiological rehabilitation is an important part of circulatory system disease prevention and treatment. However, in many countries among others, Poland suffers from the underutilization of cardiac rehabilitation services. Cardiovascular diseases are the worldwide number one cause of mortality, morbidity, and disability and are responsible for the substantial increase in health care costs. Thus, the aim of the research was the analysis of geographical accessibility to cardiac rehabilitation services in Poland. Perkal's method was employed in this research. The conducted research allowed to recognize the regional variation, but also made it possible to classify Polish voivodeships in terms of the level of availability achieved. This enables the identification of voivodeships that provide a good, or even very good, access to cardiology rehabilitation services and those characterized by low, or very low access. It was found that there was a slight regional variability in the access to cardiological rehabilitation services. However, the sufficient development of a rehabilitation infrastructure has been also recognized.
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