Facilitators and Barriers in Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation: An Integrative Review

Too many patients with cardiovascular disease do not elect recommended cardiac rehabilitation (CR). This integrative literature review includes 16 peer-reviewed articles and describes factors associated with the use of CR. The Health Promotion Model guided synthesis of findings. Barriers and facilitators to participating in CR, characteristics of typical CR clients, and clinical implications of findings for the advanced practice nurse (APN) are presented. The most common factors related to CR use/nonuse were knowledge, income, depression, referral and access, and age. Recognizing how these factors influence CR and health behavior decisions can help patients and health care providers manage cardiovascular disease.