Barriers and facilitators in cardiac rehabilitation education

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of death worldwide. In recent years the risk of premature death from chronic non-communicable diseases has been reduced in some countries; therefore, more people have been living with CVDs, requiring support to manage symptoms and reduce the risk of future complications. Cardiovascular Rehabilitation (CR) is a widely recommended treatment for CVDs, with its cost-effectiveness proven. CR is an outpatient approach to secondary prevention of CVDs, composed of structured exercise, management of risk factors, psychosocial counseling, and patient education. Studies have shown that education increases knowledge and facilitate behavior change, optimizing quality of life. Moreover, patient education is considered a quality indicator of CR. Despite evidence for clinical effectiveness, participation and adherence to CR programs remains suboptimal and educational interventions are not delivered in many programs across the globe. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – which significantly changed the delivery of healthcare services - had a deep impact in CR, with an estimated that approximately 4400 CR programs interrupted or temporarily closed during the first wave of the COVID-19 period. Those who remained open drastically reduced the amount of education delivered to patients and the educational delivery models have also changed, being mostly provided via phone, email, online resources, and mail. This session will present the barriers and facilitators in cardiac rehabilitation education within different contexts (in-person and virtual education). The speaker will provide tools to help healthcare providers to overcome these barriers and also identify facilitators that can support CR patients learning.