ArticleBMJ open2021
How has technology been used to deliver cardiac rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic? An international cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals conducted by the BACPR.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Advancing translational research in digital cardiac rehabilitation: The preparation phase of the Multiphase Optimization Strategy.Translational behavioral medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The collateral damage of COVID-19 to cardiovascular services: a meta-analysis.European heart journal · 2022Pooled it
- Smartphone Cardiac Rehabilitation, Assisted Self-Management (SCRAM) Versus Usual Care: Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Effects of real-time remote cardiac rehabilitation on exercise capacity and quality of life: a quasi-randomised controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2023Trial
- Seize the advantages of cardiac rehabilitation.Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- Methods for assessing exercise fidelity in unsupervised home-based cardiovascular rehabilitation: a scoping review.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Exploring Barriers to Patients' Progression in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Journey From Health Care Providers' Perspectives: Qualitative Study.Interactive journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Article
- Commentary on Schertzer et al.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2024Article
- Article
- Provision of dietary education in UK-based cardiac rehabilitation: a cross-sectional survey conducted in conjunction with the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.The British journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
- Factors influencing implementation of digital cardiac rehabilitation: A qualitative analysis of health workers perspectives.HRB open research · 2024Article
- Cardiac rehabilitation patient perspectives during COVID-19 pandemic: quantitative and qualitative study.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Article
- Examining the effectiveness of home-based cardiac rehabilitation programs for heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction: a critical review.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2023Review
- No transport? No worries! Cardiac telerehabilitation is a feasible and effective alternative to centre-based programs.Heart failure reviews · 2023Review
- Remote Cardiac Rehabilitation With Wearable Devices.Korean circulation journal · 2023Review
- Parkrun as self-managed cardiac rehabilitation: secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey of parkrun in the UK.Open heart · 2023Article
- Comparison of telehealth and supervised phase III cardiac rehabilitation in regional Australia: protocol for a non-inferiority trial.BMJ open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate whether exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation services continued during the COVID-19 pandemic and how technology has been used to deliver home-based cardiac rehabilitation.
designA mixed methods survey including questions about exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation service provision, programme diversity, patient complexity, technology use, barriers to using technology, and safety.
settingInternational survey of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programmes.
participantsHealthcare professionals working in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programmes worldwide.
main outcome measuresThe proportion of programmes that continued providing exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation and which technologies had been used to deliver home-based cardiac rehabilitation.
resultsThree hundred and thirty eligible responses were received; 89.7% were from the UK. Approximately half (49.3%) of respondents reported that cardiac rehabilitation programmes were suspended due to COVID-19. Of programmes that continued, 25.8% used technology before the COVID-19 pandemic. Programmes typically started using technology within 19 days of COVID-19 becoming a pandemic. 48.8% did not provide cardiac rehabilitation to high-risk patients, telephone was most commonly used to deliver cardiac rehabilitation, and some centres used sophisticated technology such as teleconferencing.
conclusionsThe rapid adoption of technology into standard practice is promising and may improve access to, and participation in, exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation beyond COVID-19. However, the exclusion of certain patient groups and programme suspension could worsen clinical symptoms and well-being, and increase hospital admissions. Refinement of current practices, with a focus on improving inclusivity and addressing safety concerns around exercise support to high-risk patients, may be needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.