Nursing Faculty Publications

Poor Use of Cardiac Rehabilitation Among Older Adults: A Self-regulatory Model for Tailored Interventions

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2010

Journal Title

Heart & Lung

Volume

39

Issue

6

First Page

504

Last Page

511

DOI

10.1016/j.hrtlng.2009.11.006

Abstract

Background

A greater number of older adults now live with coronary heart disease (CHD). This poses a significant public health problem, because older adults are at high risk for CHD-related mortality and morbidity. Overwhelming data support the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation for secondary prevention, yet only a small portion of eligible older adults receive it.

Methods and Results

Whereas many studies examined factors that affect the use of cardiac rehabilitation among older adults, few interventions aimed to improve their cardiac rehabilitation participation rates. A substantial body of evidence indicates that an individual’s illness perceptions play a pivotal role in health behavior, and may be a promising target for intervention. Drawing from the theoretic and empiric findings of others, a self-regulatory model is proposed that explicates how CHD perceptions of older adults may influence participation in cardiac rehabilitation.

Conclusion

The model may provide a useful guide for the development of effective interventions tailored to older adults.

Keywords

Cardiac rehabilitation, interventions, older adults

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