Abstract:
Aim. To identify factors contributing to patient non-
attendance at an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation
programme following hospital admission for a first
myocardial infarction.
Methods. Consecutive patients admitted over a two year
period to the Auckland or Green Lane Hospital Coronary
Care Units for a first myocardial infarction were identified.
All patients had been invited to attend the cardiac
rehabilitation programme during their admission. A
questionnaire was mailed to all identified patients.
Results. Overall 324 patients were identified with a mean
age of 61 years, of whom 212 (65%) subsequently attended
the cardiac rehabilitation programme. 220 of the 324
patients (68%) responded to the questionnaire. Univariate
analysis revealed that non-attenders were less well educated
(p <0.05), more often from a lower socioeconomic status
(p<0.05) and lived alone (p<0.05). Non-attendance and
withdrawal from the programme were most frequently
related to transport and inconvenient scheduling.
Conclusions. Patients with less education, lower
socioeconomic status and patients living alone were less
likely to attend a cardiac rehabilitation programme.
Provision of a transport service and more flexible
scheduling of the programme may improve attendance.