Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2026
Mobile Game-based Virtual Reality Program for Upper Extremity Stroke Rehabilitation
Published on: March 8, 2018
A Community-Informed Virtual World-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program as an Extension of Center-Based Cardiac
LaPrincess C Brewer1, Helayna Abraham, Brian Kaihoi
1Departments of Cardiovascular Medicine (Drs Brewer, Squires, Thomas, and Kopecky and Ms Leth) and Internal Medicine (Dr Abraham), Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota; Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Drs Brewer, and Penheiter); Global Products and Services, Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, Rochester, Minnesota (Mr Kaihoi); Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota (Mr Egginton); Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Messrs Slusser and Scott); Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida (Ms Albertie); Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Scottsdale, Arizona (Dr Scales); and Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida (Dr Trejo-Gutierrez).
Purpose:
Innovative methods for delivering cardiac rehabilitation (CR) that provide strategies to circumvent the mounting barriers to traditional CR have the potential to widen access to a well-established secondary prevention strategy. Our study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of a novel virtual world-based CR (VWCR) program, Destination Rehab , as an extension of a conventional center-based CR program.
Methods:
Adult cardiac patients hospitalized at Mayo Clinic hospitals with a diagnosis for CR and ≥1 modifiable, lifestyle risk factor target-sedentary lifestyle (<3 hr physical activity/wk), unhealthy diet (<5 servings fruits and vegetables/d), or current smoking (>1 yr)-were recruited. Patients participated in an 8-wk health education program using a virtual world (VW) platform from a prior proof-of-concept study and a post-intervention focus group. Primary outcome measures included feasibility and acceptability. Secondary outcome measures included changes from baseline to post-intervention in cardiovascular (CV) health behaviors and biometrics, CV health knowledge, and psychosocial factors.
Results:
Of the 30 enrolled patients (age 59.1 ± 9.7 yr; 50% women), 93% attended ≥1 session and 71% attended ≥75% of sessions. The overall VWCR experience received an 8 rating (scale 0-10) and had high acceptability. Clinically relevant trends were noted in CV health behaviors and biometrics, although not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
The VWCR program is a feasible, highly acceptable, and innovative platform to potentially influence health behaviors and CV risk and may increase accessibility to disadvantaged populations with higher CV disease burdens.
