Feasibility of an Emotion Regulation Intervention for Patients in Cardiac Rehabilitation.
Kelly L Wierenga, David M Fresco, Megan Alder and 1 others
PMID 32814517WHAT IT FOUND
Cardiac rehab patients found five weekly emotion regulation group sessions mostly acceptable, but attendance, home worksheets and sustaining strategies were hard.
This is feasibility feedback, not evidence the intervention reduced depression or anxiety.
Key findings
01Eighty-eight percent of participants described the intervention as acceptable.
02Content was delivered with an average of 99% over 15 sessions, but 57% completed four to five sessions and 43% completed zero or one.
03Feasibility strengths were acceptability, demand, implementation, adaptation and integration; weaknesses were practicality, expansion and perceived efficacy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 14 participants from one cardiac rehabilitation centre were studied, so the comments may not represent a wider cardiac rehabilitation population. The analysis was qualitative and did not test whether the intervention improved depression, anxiety, physical activity, or nutrition. Negative psychological symptoms were not screened for, so participants' distress levels were not measured. Confounding factors such as participant engagement or social support could not be separated. Attendance was uneven: 43% attended zero or one session, and one participant died, two withdrew, and three reported scheduling conflicts. The sample was mostly male, white, and had completed at least some college.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support, but the article text does not say the funder designed or wrote the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that emotion regulation group sessions reduce depression or anxiety in cardiac rehabilitation. It is a small qualitative feasibility study, and the authors say a quantitative efficacy test is still needed.