Introduction
Participants in cardiac rehabilitation programs have low adherence to their
sessions, which makes extremely important to recognize the barriers that
cause non-adherence, identifying whether the type of service and level of
adherence influence these barriers.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional observational study, in which 220 individuals
(66.80±11.59 years) of both genders who are members of public and
private exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programs participated. The
volunteers were divided according to the level of adherence, considering
patients with low adherence (PLA) those with < 70% of attendance and high
adherence (PHA) those with > 70%. Then, initial evaluation, Cardiac
Rehabilitation Barriers Scale, analysis of socioeconomic level, Hospital
Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Mini-Mental State Examination were
applied.
Results
Higher total barriers were found in PLA in the public service compared to PHA
in the private service (P=0.023). In the subscale “perceived need”, PHA in
the public service showed higher values than PLA and PHA in the private
service (P≤0.001). The “access” barrier was higher for PHA in the
public service when compared to PHA in the private service (P=0.024). PHA in
the public service exhibited a higher barrier regarding questions about
distance, transportation problems, cost, and time constraints.
Conclusion
The public program presents higher barriers in the questions and categories
compared to the private program, mainly the PHA. Furthermore, there are
differences in the profile of the participants regarding socioeconomic and
anxiety levels, treatment time, ethnicity, and city where they live.