ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Depression, generalized and cardiac anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder negatively affect disease severity, participation, and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. Psychological treatments within cardiac rehabilitation may improve the outcomes of these patients. We therefore developed a cognitive-behavioral rehabilitation program for patients with cardiovascular disease and mild or moderate mental illness or stress or exhaustion. In Germany, similar programs are well established in musculoskeletal rehabilitation and cancer rehabilitation. However, no randomized controlled trials have evaluated if such programs achieve better outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease compared with standard cardiac rehabilitation. METHODS: Our randomized controlled trial compares cognitive-behavioral cardiac rehabilitation with standard cardiac rehabilitation. The cognitive-behavioral program complements standard cardiac rehabilitation with additional psychological and exercise interventions. Both rehabilitation programs last for four weeks. We enroll 410 patients with cardiovascular disease and mild or moderate mental illness or stress or exhaustion aged 18 to 65 years. Half of the individuals are randomly assigned to cognitive-behavioral rehabilitation and the other half to standard cardiac rehabilitation. Our primary outcome is cardiac anxiety 12 months after the end of rehabilitation. Cardiac anxiety is assessed with the German 17-item version of the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes cover outcomes assessed by clinical examinations and medical assessments and a range of patient-reported outcome measures. DISCUSSION: This randomized controlled trial is designed to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral rehabilitation at decreasing cardiac anxiety in patients with cardiovascular disease and mild or moderate mental illness or stress or exhaustion. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00029295, June 21, 2022).
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Humans , Cardiovascular Diseases/diagnosis , Depression/psychology , Anxiety/psychology , Cognition , Quality of LifeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Due to a growing elderly population the number of age-related diseases increases and thus the need for geriatric care. In rural areas with low population density and few healthcare providers there is a risk of inadequate care. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of our investigation was to identify gaps in care and preferred improvement approaches in rural areas from the perspective of local care providers. METHODS: 1,545 healthcare providers from two rural regions were surveyed on the care situation (assessment according to the German school grading system), improvement approaches and problems (simple frequencies). The participants' answers were categorized and analyzed by their work location according to the central-place concept of high-order, middle-order and lower-order (basic) centers. RESULTS: 348 healthcare providers participated (response rate: 22.5 %). The outpatient and inpatient care situation in geriatrics was rated "satisfactory" on average. Geriatric care is most often jeopardized by long waiting times for specialist treatment (71.0 %). Significant differences in the rating were found in the coverage of geriatric care by inpatient care (p=0.0018) and the accessibility of medical facilities by public transport (p=<0.001). These were better rated in the higher-order centers. The preferred approach to improve care was intersectoral networking (62.3 %) among care providers. CONCLUSIONS: In rural areas, supply problems in geriatrics exist, in particular accessibility and waiting times in middle-order and basic centers. Solutions of regional, intersectoral and interprofessional care were approved by a majority of the participants.
