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  Rehabilitation For Women With Cardiac Disease: A Needs Assessment

   
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Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence
56 The Promenade
Winnipeg, MB
R3B 3H9

The research and publication of this study were funded by the Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE). The PWHCE is financially supported by the Women's Health Contribution Program, Bureau of Women's Health and Gender Analysis, Health Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the PWHCE or the official policy of Health Canada.


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D. E. Clarke

Executive Summary

The results of this study suggest that the current CR program appears to be meeting the needs of the participating women over age 60. It provides them with information, support, and a forum in which to socialize. Women under age 60, however, appear to have more psychosocial issues associated with their cardiac disease and fewer opportunities in which to develop the badly needed supports.
Women and men have been shown to derive similar benefits from cardiac rehabilitation (CR). However, women are less likely to have been referred by their physicians and are less likely to attend when they are referred. To investigate this issue with Canadian women, a series of focus groups were conducted with 2 groups of women: those who attended CR and those who didn't. These groups were further sub-divided into those under 60 and those 60 plus. The discussion centred around perceived need, practical considerations regarding attendance, and whether "women only" groups would be desirable. In Phase 2, a survey was developed from the themes of the discussions and distributed to women attending CR and some with heart disease but not attending CR.

It was found that women over 60 attended primarily on the urging of their family or friends while women under 60 were much more likely to have been referred by a physician. Women of all ages stated that learning more about their illness and its management, and medical supervision of exercise were primary reasons for attending. The older women also found CR to be a major source of socialization and gave them a "reason to get out of bed." These women did not feel that they would benefit from "women's only" groups. The survey results supported these findings. The younger group of women were found to be experiencing a high degree of stress from multiple sources and were unable, for a variety of reasons, to access appropriate supports. They felt strongly that some forum where women of similar ages could meet to talk about common concerns was needed. Whether this would take the form of a support group or CR classes specifically for women was not clear. Survey results supported the idea of a support group rather than "women only" CR classes although numbers of responses to the survey from women under age 60 were very small.

In conclusion, the current CR program appears to be meeting the needs of the women over age 60. It provides them with information, support, and a forum in which to socialize. Women under age 60, however, appear to have more psychosocial issues associated with their cardiac disease and fewer opportunities in which to develop the badly needed supports.

For further information, contact:
Linda Rogala, Tel: (204) 488-8023

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