Taking no for an answer. Nurses’ consultations with people with cardiac disease about rehabilitation: A qualitative study

Abstract Background Research shows that many people with cardiac disease decline cardiac rehabilitation. There is little or no knowledge on how health professionals respond to these people. Objectives To investigate how nurses respond to people who do not wish to participate in cardiac rehabilitation and what influences the nurses´ approach towards these people. Design A qualitative study involving interviews and video-recordings using an analysis inspired by ethnographic principles and categorization theory. Setting A rehabilitation clinic at a large hospital in the Capital Region of Denmark. Participants Five cardiac nurses and 28 people with cardiac disease. Methods We video-recorded the first consultation people with cardiac disease attended regarding cardiac rehabilitation, where the nurses followed up on these people’s recovery, medication, lifestyle and need for rehabilitation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the cardiac nurses. We asked the nurses about the purpose of the first rehabilitation consultation and how they handle people with cardiac disease who say no to rehabilitation. The nurses were shown video-clips with the people they had talked to in their consultation in order to facilitate a dialogue. Results When people with cardiac disease were reluctant to participate in rehabilitation, the nurses made an individual assessment of how much effort to put into motivating them, taking a complex range of factors into account. The effort among the nurses towards people with cardiac disease who decline rehabilitation was smaller in cases when the nurses believed an individual would benefit less from rehabilitation or have difficulty participating. It was important for the nurses to balance their motivational efforts with showing respect for people’s autonomy. Conclusion Even when nurses endorse rehabilitation, some people with cardiac disease decline rehabilitation. The nurses’ recommendation of the rehabilitation programme is influenced by the knowledge they obtain about the people with cardiac disease during consultations. What is already known about the topic? • Cardiac rehabilitation is an effective treatment for improving the prognosis following cardiovascular disease • Despite the positive benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, quantitative and qualitative studies in Denmark and internationally have shown that not all cardiac patients are offered or accept cardiac rehabilitation • Studies on interventions to improve cardiac rehabilitation uptake and adherence indicate that a positive attitude of health professionals towards rehabilitation and motivational communication can improve uptake and adherence What this paper adds: • This study adds that even in the face of a positive attitude and motivational efforts, some people with cardiac disease still reject rehabilitation • The nurses’ recommendation of cardiac rehabilitation is influenced by the knowledge they obtain about people with cardiac disease in their consultations with them.