Health consumers and clinicians have endorsed a cardiac rehabilitation program led by the Country Heart Attack Prevention (CHAP) project within the Caring Futures Institute.

The RECOMMEND project led by Professor Robyn Clark, research leader of the Caring Futures Institute’s Better Care theme, aims to improve rates of clinicians endorsing and recommending cardiac rehabilitation to their patients. clinician endorsement and recommendation of cardiac rehabilitation.

Cardiac rehabilitation is recommended to patients who have suffered a heart attack, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, or heart surgery. It is a six-week individualised program that delivers exercise, education, and psychosocial support by an expert multidisciplinary team.

Despite much evidence, cardiac rehabilitation referral and attendance continues to be underused for a multitude of reasons.

However, it is known that a consumer’s positive attitude towards attending cardiac rehabilitation is down to clinician endorsement.

As a result, researchers from CHAP have created their own health promotion endorsement tool where clinicians and consumers share their recommendation for cardiac rehabilitation and how it changed their life or those of their patients.

Thirty cardiac rehabilitation participants and clinicians ranging from cardiologists, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, researchers, health service coordinators and health promotion experts were engaged in the filming process.

One participant ‘Geoff’ says “I had a quadruple heart bypass, I did the cardiac rehabilitation, I found it very interesting because somebody they cared about you after the operation, (they) looked after you and it just gave me ideas that I can get myself a lot fitter, happier and better”.

The video will be shared with CHAP partners, as well as at conferences and on social media.

Check out the shortened version of the RECOMMEND video below.