Predictors of drop-out from an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programme.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence and predictors of early drop-out from a cardiac rehabilitation programme and also whether completers and drop-out patients differed in relation to their illness cognitions, gender and psychological distress and quality of life.


METHODS
A six-week outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programme.


METHODS
A university teaching hospital.


METHODS
One hundred and eighty-nine patients were recruited from a consecutive series of outpatient referrals prior to a six-week comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programme.


METHODS
The revised Illness Perception Questionnaire, Quality of Life after Myocardial Infarction Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.


RESULTS
One hundred and forty-seven cardiac patients completed the cardiac rehabilitation programme. Forty-two (22%) patients dropped out in the first two weeks. Factors predicting early drop-out were female gender, younger age, higher Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale score, lower illness perception consequences and higher illness perception personal control and lower illness perception treatment control (all P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Over a fifth of the patients did not complete this typical cardiac rehabilitation programme. Female patients are more likely to drop out from cardiac rehabilitation than men. Psychological distress, younger age and lower perceptions of consequences, higher perception personal control and lower illness perception of treatment control were predictors of early drop-out from a cardiac rehabilitation programme.
Yohannes
A M
AM
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK. A.yohannes@mmu.ac.uk
Yalfani
A
A
Doherty
P
P
Bundy
C
C
D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom