An 8-week virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation program was feasible and highly acceptable, with 93% of patients attending ≥1 session and an overall experience rating of 8 out of 10.
Is an 8-week virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation program feasible and acceptable for adult cardiac patients?
A virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation program is highly feasible and acceptable, offering a potential innovative extension to traditional center-based programs to widen access.
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 (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.
Brewer et al. (Mon,) conducted a other in Cardiac patients eligible for cardiac rehabilitation (n=30). Virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation (VWCR) program was evaluated on Feasibility and acceptability. An 8-week virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation program was feasible and highly acceptable, with 93% of patients attending ≥1 session and an overall experience rating of 8 out of 10.