Cardiac Rehabilitation: Perceived Social Support of Phase 3 Women Participating in Rural and Urban Centers in the State of Oregon

Purpose of the study:\ud Cardiac Rehab programs help people recover from the physiological and psychological damage of a recent cardiovascular event through the education of patients about heart healthy lifestyle changes, lowering modifiable risk factors and implementing safe exercise programs. Few studies have examined the role that a Cardiac Rehab environment may have in providing social support to its participants. No previous study has examined the perception of social support within the Cardiac Rehab environment of women exclusively. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived levels of social support of Phase 3 women participating in Cardiac Rehab programs in the state of Oregon.\ud Procedure:\ud Cutrona and Rusell's (1984) Social Provisions Scale (SPS) was used to\ud measure the perceived levels of social support within the Cardiac Rehab\ud environment. Participants were asked to apply each answer as it pertains\ud to the cardiac rehab environment, keeping their current relationships with\ud staff and peers in mind. The returned surveys were divided into rural or\ud urban Cardiac Rehab centers and results were analyzed and compared.\ud Findings:\ud Phase 3 women in cardiac Rehab perceive an overall high level of Social\ud Support on the SPS and on the subscales of reliable alliance, guidance,\ud social integration and attachment. There were no statistically significant\ud differences among those participants with or without a spouse or\ud significant other. Rural cardiac Rehabs had a significantly higher overall\ud perception of social support and statistically higher level of support on the\ud subscales of social integration, attachment and reassurance of worth.\ud IV\ud Conclusions:\ud This study found the SPS to be a useful tool in generating dialogue with\ud women about their health and their perceptions of the Cardiac rehab\ud environment. In addition to the returned surveys, unsolicited letters and\ud notes were received, echoing the thoughts and experiences of rehab\ud patients. Women in Cardiac Rehab programs in the state of Oregon feel\ud that they that can rely on staff to help them when, and if, they need it\ud (reliable alliance), and that they feel they are offered guidance in the form\ud of instruction and tangible aid. They also appear to have developed\ud relationships with staff and peers (attachment), and feel that they belong\ud to a group, identifying themselves with one another (social integration).\ud This study found significant differences in the perceptions of women in\ud rural Cardiac Rehabs than those in urban ones. Women in Rural programs\ud reported statistically higher perceptions of total social support and in the\ud subscales of social integration, reassurance of worth and attachment. It\ud may be that smaller rural cardiac rehab centers in rural communities test\ud high in these areas because, by virtue of living where most everyone knows\ud everyone else, the rehab center serves as more of a social nexus than it\ud does in urban centers. Results highlight the importance of the social\ud support within the Cardiac Rehab facility and warrant further\ud investigation