Abstract

BackgroundBarriers to attending cardiac rehabilitation (CR), including cultural and linguistic differences, may be addressed by recent technological developments. However, the feasibility of using these approaches in culturally and linguistically diverse patients is yet to be determined.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the use of mobile technologies and features, as well as confidence in utilization across patients speaking different languages at home (ie, English, Mandarin Chinese, and a language other than English and Mandarin [other]) and are both eligible and physically suitable for CR. In addition, the study aims to determine the sociodemographic correlates of the mobile technology/feature use, including language spoken at home in the three groups mentioned above.MethodsThis is a descriptive, case matched, comparative study. Age and gender-matched patients speaking English, Mandarin and other languages (n=30/group) eligible for CR were surveyed for their mobile technology and mobile feature use.Results‘Participants had a mean age of 66.7 years (SD 13, n=90, range 46-95), with 53.3% (48/90) male. The majority (82/90, 91.1%) used at least one technology device, with 87.8% (79/90) using mobile devices, the most common being smartphones (57/90, 63.3%), tablets (28/90, 31.1%), and text/voice-only phones (24/90, 26.7%). More English-speaking participants used computers than Mandarin or “other” language speaking participants (P=.003 and .02) and were more confident in doing so compared to Mandarin-speaking participants (P=.003). More Mandarin-speaking participants used smartphones compared with “other” language speaking participants (P=.03). Most commonly used mobile features were voice calls (77/82, 93.9%), text message (54/82, 65.9%), the internet (39/82, 47.6%), email (36/82, 43.9%), and videoconferencing (Skype or FaceTime [WeChat or QQ] 35/82, 42.7%). Less Mandarin-speaking participants used emails (P=.001) and social media (P=.007) than English-speaking participants. Speaking Mandarin was independently associated with using smartphone, emails, and accessing the web-based medication information (OR 7.238, 95% CI 1.262-41.522; P=.03, OR 0.089, 95% CI 0.016-0.490; P=.006 and OR 0.191, 95% CI 0.037-0.984; P=.05).ConclusionsThis study reveals a high usage of mobile technology among CR patients and provides further insights into differences in the technology use across CALD patients in Australia. The findings of this study may inform the design and implementation of future technology-based CR.

Highlights

  • Cardiac disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]

  • This study reveals a high usage of mobile technology among cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients and provides further insights into differences in the technology use across culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patients in Australia

  • More than half of the participants were admitted with coronary heart disease (CHD) (52/90, 57.7%), with the leading procedures or diagnoses being PCI, angina, and myocardial infarction PCI (MI) (Table 1)

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Despite advancements in treatment and secondary prevention, the recurrence rate of cardiac events remains high [2], especially among specific sociodemographic groups, such as patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds [3]. Attendance rates remain as low as 15%-30% after a cardiac event [12,13,14], which, are attributed to provider-level barriers, such as the limited availability of services and inadequate referral, as well as patient-level characteristics, including old age, being female, and low socioeconomic status [14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. Barriers to attending cardiac rehabilitation (CR), including cultural and linguistic differences, may be addressed by recent technological developments. The feasibility of using these approaches in culturally and linguistically diverse patients is yet to be determined

Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call