Cardiac patients’ experiences with a telerehabilitation web portal: Implications for eHealth literacy

Camilla Melholt*, Katrine Joensson, Helle Spindler, John Hansen, Jan Jesper Andreasen, Gitte Nielsen, Astrid Noergaard, Anita Tracey, Charlotte Thorup, Rikke Kringelholt, Birthe Irene Dinesen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this study are two-fold: 1) To explore how cardiac patients experience their use of a telerehabilitation tool for recuperation from surgery, and 2) To study how the patients’ use of the interactive ‘Active Heart’ web portal affected their eHealth literacy skills. Methods: The ‘Active Heart’ telerehabilitation web portal offers patients and their relatives information and exercises for recovery from cardiac surgery. 109 cardiac patients were using the Active Heart web portal for a duration of three months. Results: 49 patients completed questionnaires that were administered both before and after their use of the portal, resulting in a 45% response rate. Respondents had a mean age of 60.64 ± 10.75 years, and 82% of the respondents were males. The respondents had a positive impression of Active Heart, reporting that it was easy to access, user-friendly, and written in an understandable language. The patients’ eHealth literacy skills increased during the trial period. Conclusion: Use of a cardiac telerehabilitation web portal can be beneficial for patient education and can increase cardiac patients’ eHealth literacy skills. Practice implications: Online telerehabilitation portals may be used as a tool in patient education and cardiac rehabilitation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPatient Education and Counseling
Volume101
Issue5
Pages (from-to)854-861
Number of pages8
ISSN0738-3991
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2018

Keywords

  • Cardiac diseases
  • EHealth literacy
  • Patient education
  • Rehabilitation
  • Tele-rehabilitation

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