Patient-reported experiences of cardiac rehabilitation services and the Country Heart Attack Prevention model of care

Patient-centred care is the delivery of a high-quality healthcare service that appropriately responds to the needs and preferences of patients. Addressing participants' needs and preferences in healthcare services is essential to improving patients' experiences and clinical outcomes. This article aimed to evaluate patient-reported experiences of standard cardiac rehabilitation programmes and the Country Heart Attack Prevention model of care, as well as design and standardise patient-reported experience measures. This was a cross-sectional study with a multi-method analysis. Participants (n=818) ≥18 years old with cardiovascular disease who attended cardiac rehabilitation programmes across all modes of delivery before (1 January 2017 to 30 June 2021), during (1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022) and after implementation of the Country Heart Attack Prevention model (1 July 2022 to 30 December 2022) responded to the patient satisfaction surveys. Participant data from before and after implementation of the model were categorised as ‘not exposed’, while those who received cardiac rehabilitation during this period were categorised as ‘exposed’. A total of 170 participants provided qualitative feedback. Summary t-test was used to compare the means of the quantitative responses, and thematic analysis was used to generate themes from the qualitative feedback. The overall patient-reported satisfaction scores for those not exposed (n=685) and exposed (n=133) to the Country Heart Attack Prevention model of care were 77.1% and 85.9%, respectively (mean difference=−8.8; 95% confidence interval=−10.2, −7.4; P≤0.05). Themes for positive feedback included education and information, communication and friendly advice. Themes for improvement included follow-up duration, more face-to-face contact and waiting time. Overall patient-reported satisfaction scores were significantly higher for participants who were exposed to the Country Heart Attack Prevention model of care compared with those who were not exposed. Addressing feedback on areas for improvement in cardiac rehabilitation services can promote attendance, completion and improved health outcomes of patients.