Perceived barriers among cardiac patients towards cardiac rehabilitation programme

Introduction: Cardiac rehabilitation is one of the secondary prevention programme to reduce morbidity and mortality in cardiac patients. However, adherence towards this programme is still sub optimal. The objective of this study isto determine the perceived barriers on cardiac rehabilitation programme among cardiac patients and its association with the sociodemographiccharacteristics. Methods: A preliminary study using the Cardiac Rehabilitation Barrier Scale (CRBS) was conducted in a tertiary hospital among 40 patients. The CRBS tool was validated and tested for reliability.Convenience sampling method was used among those who have attended the cardiac rehabilitation programme. Ethical approval was obtained from the institution ethical committee. There were total of 22 items in the CRBS except for the last item (22nd) being an open-ended item to enable the patients to share their opinion on any other barriers towards attendance to cardiac rehabilitation programme. The 21 items assessed on patients’ opinion on the perceived barriers during their attendance to the cardiac rehabilitation programme in a form of Likert scale. Results: The overall mean (SD) score for the 21 items was 60.70 (8.77) showed that the patients were able to understand gave their best options on the opinions towards CRBS. The highest mean on item 11 on ‘time constraints’ at 3.58 (0.75). Thus, the majority of the patients scored the item “time constraints’ as the highest perceived barrier during attendance in the cardiac rehabilitation programme. The association of the sociodemographic status had significance difference (p<0.05) for gender with item 4 on ‘family responsibilities’ and item 13 on ‘I don’t have energy’ with (p=0.035) and (p=0.020) respectively. Level of education too showed significant difference to item 9 on I find ‘exercise tiring and painful’ and item 12 on ‘work responsibilities’ with (p=0.034) and(p=0.048). Conclusion: Thus, measures should be taken for other barriers to ensure patients’ adherence to the cardiac rehabilitation programme

Understanding brief illness perception among cardiac patients: a preliminary study

Introduction: Illness perceptions involve personal beliefs that patients have about their illness and may influence health behaviour considerably. This preliminary study evaluates the understanding of illness perception among cardiac patients’ and correlations of each of the items. Methods: A preliminary study was conducted using the on Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) in a tertiary hospital among 40 cardiac patients. Ethical approval was obtained from the institution ethical committee. There are 9 items in the BIPQ with 0-10 response scale measuring causal factors and an open-ended item. Items 1 to 5 assesses on the cognitive illness perception which comprises of consequences, timeline, personal control, treatment control and identity. Item 6 and 8 are on emotional response and item 7 is on coherence. Results: The overall mean score of the 8 items of BIPQ was 7.04 (1.07) with the highest mean for item 4 on treatment control and item 6 on personal control at 8.02 (0.92) and 7.03 (1.77) respectively while the lowest mean was item 7 on understanding at 6.63 (1.83). The causal factor for the open-ended question was mostly on consumption of fatty food intake, sedentary lifestyle and stress at work. Perceiving personal control was significantly being affected by perceiving treatment control for the cardiac disease (r=0.50) and being concerned about their cardiac symptoms was significantly related to perceiving consequences of the disease (r =0.54), perceiv¬ing identity (r=0.75) and perceiving emotional control (r=0.67). Perceiving emotional control on their symptoms was significantly related to perceived consequences on cardiac disease (r=0.51), perceived identity (r=0.53) and perceived concern on cardiac disease (r=0.67). Conclusion: The results shown significant correlations with relevant outcomes measures. It is useful in clinical practice to assess and potentially modify patient’s perceptions on under¬standing, emotional control, personal control, consequences and perceived concerned over their cardiac disease

The health and wellness benefits of traditional postnatal Practice (tpc) on postnatal mothers: a systematic review

Introduction: Postnatal is a transition process for the mother back to her non-pregnancy state and involves the changes in hormones level. During the postnatal period, many health issues need to be addressed for both mother and newborn. One of the upsetting health issues for the mother due to the increasing trend is postnatal depression and if it is not identified and treated early, it may cause further complicated problems not only to the mother but also to the baby, family, and local community. With this issue, the Ministry of Health Malaysia has taken a few initiatives to encourage the postnatal mother to also practice the non-medical approaches or traditional postnatal care (TPC) as a self-care for the prevention of postnatal depression. Aim: To systematically identify and review studies examining the influence of TPC on postnatal mothers. Design & Data Sources: A systematic search strategy on the research trend for the period between the years 2013 to 2020 through the Scopus database, Science Direct, and PubMed database. Methods: This review has identified 7 journal articles based on the preferred reporting items for the systematic reviews (PRISMA) framework. Results: There are many methods of TPC, such as traditional postnatal body massage, herbal consumption, herbal bath, body steaming, and body wrapping based on own culture and beliefs. Besides the TPC preparation and techniques, some studies also describe the effects of TPC on a mother’s health and wellness. Conclusion: TPC shows encouraging health trends, and it helps to enhance the well-being and good health of postpartum mothers

Exploring Social Support for Women Coping with a Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme after Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

Objective: Female sex is a major barrier to completing a programme of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) after acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Women require significant social support to promote compliance and the ability to cope with CR programme attendance. The aim of this systematic review of qualitative studies was to explore social support among women coping with CR programme attendance at phase II CRP is 3 months after their cardiac event. Methods: Articles were searched through CINAHL (Cumulative Index and Allied Health Literature), Science Direct and PubMed databases using the following terms: "women", "acute coronary syndrome", "coping", "social support" and "cardiac rehabilitation". Results: A total of 6 articles were selected based on eligibility criteria. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data using line to line coding into descriptive themes, interpreting further to generate new insights. The 3 most common themes regarding social support for women attending the CR programme were: family support, female as the primary caregiver in the family, and peer support. For most women who perceived themselves as the primary caregiver in the family there was a negative impact on their ability to cope fully with CR programme attendance. On the other hand, encouraging support from family and peers positively improved their coping mechanism for attending the CR programme, leading to improved compliance. Conclusion: Women with ACS consider that support from their family plays a vital role as a coping mechanism in their attendance at a CR programme. Healthcare providers should teach the importance of social support among women after discharge to help them cope with CR programme attendance