Aim: To identify factors contributing to patient nonattendance at an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programme following hospital admission for a first myocardial infarction.
Methods: Consecutive patients admitted over a two year period to the Auckland or Green Lane Hospital Coronary Care Units for a first myocardial infarction were identified. All patients had been invited to attend the cardiac rehabilitation programme during their admission. A questionnaire was mailed to all identified patients.
Results: Overall 324 patients were identified with a mean age of 61 years, of whom 212 (65%) subsequently attended the cardiac rehabilitation programme. 220 of the 324 patients (68%) responded to the questionnaire. Univariate analysis revealed that non-attenders were less well educated (p <0.05), more often from a lower socioeconomic status (p<0.05) and lived alone (p<0.05). Non-attendance and withdrawal from the programme were most frequently related to transport and inconvenient scheduling.
Conclusions: Patients with less education, lower socioeconomic status and patients living alone were less likely to attend a cardiac rehabilitation programme. Provision of a transport service and more flexible scheduling of the programme may improve attendance.