Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Exploring Barriers to Patients' Progression in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Journey From Health Care Providers'
Shri Harini Ramesh1, Darwin Jull1, Hélène Fournier2
1Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Design, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Insights
Barriers hinder patient progression through cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs. Addressing these challenges, from referral to post-program adherence, is key to improving patient outcomes and recovery.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading global cause of mortality.
- Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are vital for post-cardiac event recovery and reducing recurrent events.
- Patient progression through CR stages (pre, during, post) is essential for maximizing benefits, but faces numerous barriers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore barriers impacting patient progression across all stages of the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) journey.
- To gather insights from the perspectives of healthcare providers involved in CR care.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study utilizing semistructured interviews with CR healthcare providers.
- Purposive maximal variation and snowball sampling for diverse participant recruitment.
- Inductive thematic analysis of transcribed interviews to identify key themes.
Main Results:
- Ten healthcare providers across various roles were interviewed.
- Four primary themes of barriers to CR progression were identified: lack of referral, non-enrollment, dropout, and poor post-program lifestyle adherence.
- These themes highlight critical points of failure in the patient's CR journey.
Conclusions:
- Identified barriers necessitate targeted interventions to improve CR program completion and effectiveness.
- Proposed four technological solutions to address identified barriers and enhance patient progression.
- These solutions aim to guide future research and development of effective CR technologies.
Background:
Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of mortality globally. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are crucial for patients recovering from cardiac events, as they help reduce the risk of recurrent events and support patient recovery. The patient's journey in CR spans the stages before, during, and after the program. Patients have to progress through each stage of CR programs successfully to complete the entire CR journey and get the full benefits of CR programs, but numerous barriers within this journey can hinder patient progression.
Objective:
This study aims to explore the barriers to progression at all stages of the CR patient journey from the perspectives of health care providers involved in CR care.
Methods:
This qualitative study involved semistructured interviews with health care providers involved in CR care from July 2023 to January 2024. A purposive maximal variation sampling method was used to target providers with diverse demographics and specialties. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants, leveraging the existing networks of participants. Each interview lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Data analysis was conducted from August 2023 to February 2024.
Results:
Ten health care providers, comprising 7 females and 3 males, were interviewed. Their roles included physician, program director, nurse manager, clinical manager, nurse coordinator, nurse, physiotherapist, and kinesiologist. The analysis identified four overarching themes related to barriers to progression in the CR journey: (1) patients not being referred to CR programs, (2) patients not enrolling in CR programs, (3) patients dropping out of CR programs, and (4) patients' lack of adherence to lifestyle changes post-CR programs.
Conclusions:
In light of the growing interest in technological interventions in CR programs, we proposed 4 potential technological solutions to address the barriers to progression identified in our analysis. These solutions aim to provide a foundation for future research to guide the development of effective technologies and enhance patient progression within the CR journey.
Related Concept Videos
02:07Blind Procedures
01:19Restorative Care
01:17Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe and...
01:26Longitudinal Studies
01:27Coronary Artery Disease V: Interprofessional Care
01:29Cardiomyopathy V: Interprofessional Care