WREN Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Web-Based Cardiac REhabilitatioN Alternative for Those Declining or Dropping Out Of Conventional Rehabilitation: The WREN Feasibility Study
IRAS ID
169397
Contact name
Sally Singh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Coronary heart disease (CHD) affects over 2.3 million people in the UK. There is a very large cost to both the individual, in terms of loss of quality of life, and to society, in terms of health care costs and loss of productivity. It has been estimated that the cumulative cost of cardiovascular disease (CVD) to the UK economy is in the region of £30 billion annually, through direct service provision, lost productivity and informal care. The acute and on-going management of individuals with CHD has been outlined in many national and international guidelines and acknowledges the importance of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in the care pathway of these individuals.
Despite national guidance a significant number of eligible patients do not receive or take up the offer of CR. The most recent data from the National Audit of CR (NACR) reported that the number of people receiving CR was just 45% of those deemed eligible. There was also an unacceptable variation in uptake (13-88%). Factors related to rehabilitation nonattendance that have been identified are employment commitments, difficulties with transport, lack of time, distance to travel to rehabilitation, and embarrassment related to attending group rehabilitation sessions.
The study will assess the feasibility of delivering an alternative web-based CR intervention for those who decline or drop out from conventional supervised CR. The study will be a 2 centre feasibility study. Our program has not yet been tested with these groups and therefore we are aiming to examine the practicalities of conducting a large scale study with this population.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0291
Date of REC Opinion
6 Aug 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion