Patient perspectives on barriers to participating in cardiac rehabilitation

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Despite proven benefits, attendance at cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is poor worldwide. We aimed to describe patient perspectives on barriers to attend CR in Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional study was conducted at cardiothoracic outpatient clinics of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka from May to July 2019. Post-cardiac surgery patients who were referred to CR but not attending them were recruited. 80 patients (male-51.3%, mean age 59.5±11.7 years) who were not attending CR were studied. 60% had to travel more than 50 km to attend CR. Main reasons for non-attendance were transportation difficulties (36%), non-availability of nearby CR centres (36%), unaware of being referred to CR due to communication lapses (35%) and lack of awareness of the importance of CR (31%). Therefore, providing clear information on cardiac rehabilitation, incorporating patient education programmes in cardiac surgery protocols and establishing new cardiac rehabilitation centres are recommended. KEYWORDS: Cardiac rehabilitation, Patient perspectives, Barriers, Sri Lanka