Determinants of eligibility and use of ehealth for cardiac rehabilitation patients: preliminary results

To foster implementation of eHealth in care practice, it is important to gain insight into the factors that influence acceptance. The aim of this study was to identify determinants of eligibility and use for completing an electronic needs assessment for cardiac rehabilitation. We analysed the influence of age, gender, diagnosis, health literacy, quality of life scores, and depression and anxiety scores. Among 240 patients entering CR in two clinics, 101 patients were deemed eligible to use the system by their CR professional, of which 75 (74.2%) actually used it. Only 50% of the patients who had an acute coronary syndrome and 20% of the patients with chronic heart failure were deemed eligible. Furthermore, there was a decreasing trend towards usage in female patients, patients with symptoms of anxiety, and patients with a better quality of life. In the future we will continue to explore barriers and success factors as experienced by the patients and the participating clinics to optimize the system