scholarly journals A Socially Assistive Robot for Long-Term Cardiac Rehabilitation in the Real World

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalia Céspedes ◽  
Bahar Irfan ◽  
Emmanuel Senft ◽  
Carlos A. Cifuentes ◽  
Luisa F. Gutierrez ◽  
...  

What are the benefits of using a socially assistive robot for long-term cardiac rehabilitation? To answer this question we designed and conducted a real-world long-term study, in collaboration with medical specialists, at the Fundación Cardioinfantil-Instituto de Cardiología clinic (Bogotá, Colombia) lasting 2.5 years. The study took place within the context of the outpatient phase of patients' cardiac rehabilitation programme and aimed to compare the patients' progress and adherence in the conventional cardiac rehabilitation programme (control condition) against rehabilitation supported by a fully autonomous socially assistive robot which continuously monitored the patients during exercise to provide immediate feedback and motivation based on sensory measures (robot condition). The explicit aim of the social robot is to improve patient motivation and increase adherence to the programme to ensure a complete recovery. We recruited 15 patients per condition. The cardiac rehabilitation programme was designed to last 36 sessions (18 weeks) per patient. The findings suggest that robot increases adherence (by 13.3%) and leads to faster completion of the programme. In addition, the patients assisted by the robot had more rapid improvement in their recovery heart rate, better physical activity performance and a higher improvement in cardiovascular functioning, which indicate a successful cardiac rehabilitation programme performance. Moreover, the medical staff and the patients acknowledged that the robot improved the patient motivation and adherence to the programme, supporting its potential in addressing the major challenges in rehabilitation programmes.

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgitta Winberg ◽  
Bengt Fridlund

Background: Women's recovery following a myocardial infarction (MI) has not yet been studied in a thorough manner. Aim: Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare women's self-reported behavioural and medical changes, both in those women who voluntarily participated and those women who did not participate in a cardiac rehabilitation programme (CRP). Methods: A non-randomised comparative study design, including pre- (baseline) and post-tests (1 and 4 years after), was implemented in 18 hospitals in Sweden. Consecutively chosen women suffering their first MI ( N=240) completed a questionnaire regarding behavioural and medical factors. Results: At baseline, significant differences existed between the groups regarding time stress (increased in the CRP group) and hypertension (increased in the non-CRP group). The behavioural factors improved, irrespective of CRP participation or not, with the exception of time stress, which was consistently high in the CRP group both 1- and 4-years after the MI. Regarding the medical factors, the significant difference in hypertension disappeared after 1 year. Four years after the MI, the CRP group reported significantly less rehospitalisation and more interventive cardiology compared to the non-CRP group. Conclusion: The women benefited from CRP participation in relation to medical factors, but not at all in relation to behavioural factors. Accordingly, randomised clinical trials are necessary to perform in order to determine the effects of a long-term individual-based supportive CRP, performed by well-educated healthcare professionals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina B Hansen ◽  
Selina K Berg ◽  
Kirstine L Sibilitz ◽  
Ann D Zwisler ◽  
Tone M Norekvål ◽  
...  

Background: Little evidence exists on whether cardiac rehabilitation is effective for patients after heart valve surgery. Yet, accepted recommendations for patients with ischaemic heart disease continue to support it. To date, no studies have determined what heart valve surgery patients prefer in a cardiac rehabilitation programme, and none have analysed their experiences with it. Aims: The purpose of this qualitative analysis was to gain insight into patients’ experiences in cardiac rehabilitation, the CopenHeartVR trial. This trial specifically assesses patients undergoing isolated heart valve surgery. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine patients recruited from the intervention arm of the trial. The intervention consisted of a physical training programme and a psycho-educational intervention. Participants were interviewed three times: 2–3 weeks, 3–4 months and 8–9 months after surgery between April 2013 and October 2014. Data were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Participants had diverse needs and preferences. Two overall themes emerged: cardiac rehabilitation played an important role in (i) reducing insecurity and (ii) helping participants to take active personal responsibility for their health. Despite these benefits, participants experienced existential and psychological challenges and musculoskeletal problems. Participants also sought additional advice from healthcare professionals both inside and outside the healthcare system. Conclusions: Even though the cardiac rehabilitation programme reduced insecurity and helped participants take active personal responsibility for their health, they experienced existential, psychological and physical challenges during recovery. The cardiac rehabilitation programme had several limitations, having implications for designing future programmes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Kristin H. Kroll ◽  
Joshua R. Kovach ◽  
Salil Ginde ◽  
Roni M. Jacobsen ◽  
Michael Danduran ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Cardiac rehabilitation programmes for paediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) have been shown to promote emotional and physical health without any associated adverse events. While prior studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of these types of interventions, there has been limited research into how the inclusion of psychological interventions as part of the programme impacts parent-reported and patient-reported quality of life. Materials and methods: Patients between the ages of 7 and 24 years with CHD completed a cardiac rehabilitation programme that followed a flexible structure of four in person-visits with various multidisciplinary team members, including paediatric psychologists. Changes in scores from the earliest to the latest session were assessed regarding exercise capacity, patient functioning (social, emotional, school, psychosocial), patient general and cardiac-related quality of life, patient self-concept, and patient behavioural/emotional problems. Results: From their baseline to final session, patients exhibited significant improvement in exercise capacity (p = 0.00009). Parents reported improvement in the patient’s emotional functioning, social functioning, school functioning, psychosocial functioning, cognitive functioning, communication, and overall quality of life. While patients did not report improvement in these above areas, they did report perceived improvement in certain aspects of cardiac-related quality of life and self-concept. Discussion: This paediatric cardiac rehabilitation programme, which included regular consultations with paediatric psychologists, was associated with divergent perceptions by parents and patients on improvement related to quality of life and other aspects of functioning despite improvement in exercise capacity. Further investigation is recommended to identify underlying factors associated with the differing perceptions of parents and patients.


1968 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 511-513
Author(s):  
John H. Aloes ◽  
Severin Grabin ◽  
Seymour P. Stein

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