Internal medicine resident education improves cardiac rehabilitation knowledge, attitudes, and referral rates: A pilot study
Key result
Brief resident education improves knowledge but fails to significantly increase CR referrals.
- P=0.09
- n=20
Why the study?
Referrals to cardiac rehabilitation remain low despite evidence of reduced cardiovascular mortality and hospital readmissions, and resident education may address referral barriers.
Does a brief educational intervention improve cardiac rehabilitation knowledge, attitudes, and referral rates among internal medicine residents?
Population
20 internal medicine residents rotating at an ambulatory primary care clinic
Comparison
Pre-education baseline vs post-education after lecture and handout
Design
Pilot cohort study with voluntary surveys
Follow-up
2 months
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
May boost resident knowledge on cardiac rehab; leaves open whether education alone improves referral rates in practice.
Structured PICO
Does a brief educational intervention improve cardiac rehabilitation knowledge, attitudes, and referral rates among internal medicine residents?
P
Population
20 internal medicine residents rotating at an ambulatory primary care clinic evaluated before and 2 months after a brief educational intervention.
I
Intervention
10-minute scripted lecture and an educational handout outlining cardiac rehabilitation (CR) components, availability, indications, insurance eligibility criteria, and referral process
C
Comparator
Pre-education baseline
O
Outcome
Changes in mean aggregate knowledge scores and attitude ratings on a 5-point Likert scale, and CR referral rates of eligible patients at 2 months post-education
Main Result
Absolute Event Rate: 33% vs 0%
p-value: p=0.09
A brief educational intervention significantly improved internal medicine residents' knowledge and attitudes regarding cardiac rehabilitation, with a trend toward increased referral rates.
Limitations
- Pilot study was not powered to detect statistical significance for referral rates
- not powered to detect statistical significance for referral rates
Cite This Study
Wang et al. (2022) studied Cardiac rehabilitation knowledge and referral (n=20). Scripted lecture and educational handout on cardiac rehabilitation vs. Pre-education baseline was evaluated on Cardiac rehabilitation referral rates of eligible patients (p=0.09). A brief educational intervention for internal medicine residents significantly improved knowledge scores but yielded a non-significant increase in cardiac rehabilitation referral rates (0% to 33%, P=0.09).