2026-10-10T03:50:51Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34023447 2026-10-09T04:25:20Z category_27031 portal_947 item_type_6 month_year_10_2026

Process evaluation of the Integrated Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Employing Smartphone Technology (I-CREST) for coronary heart disease management Hadassah Joann Ramachandran (20530805) Wenru Wang (25137221) Tee Joo Yeo (12179330) Rehabilitation Cardiac Rehabilitation/methods m-Health interventions telerehabilitation platforms process evaluation tools <p dir="ltr"><b>Aims:</b> To evaluate the Integrated-Cardiac Rehabilitation Employing Smartphone Technology (I-CREST) program’s implementation fidelity, impact mechanisms, experiences, and contextual factors influencing its delivery from post-myocardial infarction participants and healthcare professionals.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Methods:</b> A mixed-methods approach following the Medical Research Council (MRC) guidelines for complex interventions, focusing on implementation, mechanisms of impact, and context. Three quantitative data sources were collected: 1) records of intervention delivery; 2) records of intervention delivery time; 3) content analysis on the frequency of contextual factors from the qualitative interview data. Qualitative data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with 14 I-CREST participants and healthcare professionals (HCPs).</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Results:</b> The I-CREST program achieved a high level of intervention delivery fidelity, with an average delivery time of 3.02 hours per participant over six weeks. Deductive content analysis of participants’ experiences found key mechanisms of impact, including knowledge and belief, self-regulation skills and abilities, and social facilitation. Thematic analysis of participants’ experiences found four main themes: benefits of the I-CREST intervention; a change in mindset; life beyond the six-weeks intervention; and the potential of I-CREST. Inductive content analysis of both participants’ and HCPs experiences identified implementation-level factors such as recruitment, interoperability and cost, and mechanism/experience-level factors like work commitments and motivation that influenced the I-CREST program’s implementation, mechanisms of impact, participants’ experiences and trial outcomes.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Conclusion:</b> The I-CREST program is a promising home-based cardiac telerehabilitation option that was well accepted. However, further revisions are needed if I-CREST is to achieve its full intended benefits and see successful implementation in real-world clinical settings.</p> 2026-06-29T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 10.1093/eurjcn/zvag104 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Process_evaluation_of_the_Integrated_Cardiac_Rehabilitation_Program_Employing_Smartphone_Technology_I-CREST_for_coronary_heart_disease_management/34023447 In Copyright Open Access after 2027-06-29