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Updated: Oct 5, 2025
A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
Are behaviour change techniques and intervention features associated with effectiveness of digital cardiac
Eanna Kenny1, John W McEvoy2, Jenny McSharry1
1Health Behaviour Change Research Group, School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Insights
This systematic review identifies behavior change techniques (BCTs) and features in digital cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs. It aims to determine which BCTs and features enhance the effectiveness of digital CR for cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients.
Area of Science:
- Digital health interventions
- Cardiovascular disease management
- Behavior change science
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading global cause of mortality.
- Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is crucial for managing CVD, improving patient outcomes, and quality of life.
- Digital CR offers a scalable solution to overcome access barriers inherent in traditional center-based programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically identify behavior change techniques (BCTs) employed in digital CR interventions.
- To determine which BCTs and specific intervention features are associated with improved effectiveness in digital CR.
- To provide evidence-based recommendations for optimizing digital CR program design.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive systematic literature search of multiple databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, etc.) from inception to June 2021.
- Inclusion of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating digital CR interventions for patients with CVD.
- Intervention content coded using the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy (v1) and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist.
Main Results:
- The review will identify specific BCTs and intervention features utilized in digital CR programs.
- Meta-analysis and meta-regression will be employed to assess the impact of BCTs and features on program effectiveness.
- Results will highlight key components contributing to successful digital CR interventions.
Conclusions:
- This systematic review will elucidate the BCTs and design elements crucial for effective digital CR.
- Findings will inform the development and refinement of evidence-based digital CR programs.
- The study provides a foundation for enhancing digital CR delivery and improving patient outcomes in cardiovascular disease management.
Abstract:
Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a complex intervention that aims to stabilise, slow, or reverse the progression of CVD and improve patients' functional status and quality of life. Digitally delivered CR has been shown to be effective and can overcome many of the access barriers associated with traditional centre-based delivered CR programmes. However, there is a limited understanding of the behaviour change techniques (BCTs) and intervention features that maximise the effectiveness of digital programmes. Therefore, this systematic review will aim to identify the BCTs that have been used in digital CR programmes and to determine which BCTs and intervention features are associated with programme effectiveness. Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINHAL, PsycINFO and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials will be searched from inception to June 2021 for randomised controlled trials of digital CR with CVD patients. Screening, data extraction, intervention coding and risk of bias will be performed by one reviewer with a second reviewer independently verifying a random 20% of the articles. Intervention content will be coded using the behaviour change technique taxonomy v1 and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist and intervention features will be identified. A meta-analysis will be conducted to calculate the pooled effect size of each outcome, and meta-regression analyses will investigate whether intervention features and the presence and absence of individual BCTs in interventions are associated with intervention effectiveness. Discussion: The review will identify BCTs and intervention features that are associated with digital CR programmes and adopt a systematic approach to describe the content of these programmes using the BCT taxonomy (v1) and TIDieR checklist. The results will provide key insights into the content and design of successful digital CR programmes, providing a foundation for further development, testing and refinement.
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