The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial
BackgroundCardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a widely underutilized secondary cardiovascular disease prevention strategy, due to a variety of barriers to participation that disproportionately impact women, minoritized racial and ethnic groups, and patients with low socioeconomic status. Destination Card...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| author | Helayna Abraham Grace Patrice Anyetei-Anum Ashton Krogman Donald Clark Melvin Echols Michael E. Hall Karen Hodgman Brian Kaihoi Stephen Kopecky Shawn Leth Shaista Malik Jill Marsteller Lena Mathews Robert Scales Phillip Schulte Adam Shultz Julie Becker Bryan Taylor Randal Thomas Nathan D. Wong Thomas Olson LaPrincess C. Brewer LaPrincess C. Brewer |
| author_facet | Helayna Abraham Grace Patrice Anyetei-Anum Ashton Krogman Donald Clark Melvin Echols Michael E. Hall Karen Hodgman Brian Kaihoi Stephen Kopecky Shawn Leth Shaista Malik Jill Marsteller Lena Mathews Robert Scales Phillip Schulte Adam Shultz Julie Becker Bryan Taylor Randal Thomas Nathan D. Wong Thomas Olson LaPrincess C. Brewer LaPrincess C. Brewer |
| author_sort | Helayna Abraham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundCardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a widely underutilized secondary cardiovascular disease prevention strategy, due to a variety of barriers to participation that disproportionately impact women, minoritized racial and ethnic groups, and patients with low socioeconomic status. Destination Cardiac Rehab, a virtual world-based CR (VWCR) program designed by our team in collaboration with patients and community members to mitigate the barriers to CR participation, has demonstrated feasibility and acceptability. In anticipation of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to further validate the intervention, this qualitative descriptive analysis provides insights garnered from a patient/community/stakeholder-advisory board (PCS-AB, HEALERS) focus group series, convened to inform iterative refinements to a RCT protocol.Methods and resultsHEALERS participated in five 90-min virtual focus group sessions to provide feedback on various aspects of the VWCR intervention and the recruitment/retention strategies. Major themes were identified from participant feedback to inform revisions to the trial protocol. Illustrative quotes were selected to represent each theme. Twenty-two members were recruited with diverse sociodemographic and personal/professional backgrounds (mean age 59.3 ± 13 years, 50% female). Regarding trial recruitment, members recommended effective communication strategies, recruitment video suggestions, and expansion of recruitment settings. HEALERS emphasized the importance of feeling safe during exercise and social support in designing an effective VWCR intervention. Lastly, they identified reminder messages, tangible incentives, and fostering positive relationships with the CR staff as important retention tools.ConclusionsA diverse PCS-AB was convened to better understand community needs to improve the patient-centric nature of Destination Cardiac Rehab in anticipation of an upcoming RCT. The HEALERS offered valuable insights that informed actionable changes to the RCT protocol. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4cef87f9de1a498585cf30361f87a564 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2673-253X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Digital Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-4cef87f9de1a498585cf30361f87a5642025-08-20T02:39:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Digital Health2673-253X2025-07-01710.3389/fdgth.2025.14275391427539The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trialHelayna Abraham0Grace Patrice Anyetei-Anum1Ashton Krogman2Donald Clark3Melvin Echols4Michael E. Hall5Karen Hodgman6Brian Kaihoi7Stephen Kopecky8Shawn Leth9Shaista Malik10Jill Marsteller11Lena Mathews12Robert Scales13Phillip Schulte14Adam Shultz15Julie Becker16Bryan Taylor17Randal Thomas18Nathan D. Wong19Thomas Olson20LaPrincess C. Brewer21LaPrincess C. Brewer22Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute, Dallas, TX, United StatesMayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United StatesDivision of Cardiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United StatesDivision of Cardiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United StatesGlobal Products and Services, Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, Rochester, MN, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United StatesDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United StatesCenter for Health Services and Outcomes Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United StatesDivision of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States0Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ, United States1Division of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United States2Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United StatesDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United StatesDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, United States3Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United StatesBackgroundCardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a widely underutilized secondary cardiovascular disease prevention strategy, due to a variety of barriers to participation that disproportionately impact women, minoritized racial and ethnic groups, and patients with low socioeconomic status. Destination Cardiac Rehab, a virtual world-based CR (VWCR) program designed by our team in collaboration with patients and community members to mitigate the barriers to CR participation, has demonstrated feasibility and acceptability. In anticipation of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to further validate the intervention, this qualitative descriptive analysis provides insights garnered from a patient/community/stakeholder-advisory board (PCS-AB, HEALERS) focus group series, convened to inform iterative refinements to a RCT protocol.Methods and resultsHEALERS participated in five 90-min virtual focus group sessions to provide feedback on various aspects of the VWCR intervention and the recruitment/retention strategies. Major themes were identified from participant feedback to inform revisions to the trial protocol. Illustrative quotes were selected to represent each theme. Twenty-two members were recruited with diverse sociodemographic and personal/professional backgrounds (mean age 59.3 ± 13 years, 50% female). Regarding trial recruitment, members recommended effective communication strategies, recruitment video suggestions, and expansion of recruitment settings. HEALERS emphasized the importance of feeling safe during exercise and social support in designing an effective VWCR intervention. Lastly, they identified reminder messages, tangible incentives, and fostering positive relationships with the CR staff as important retention tools.ConclusionsA diverse PCS-AB was convened to better understand community needs to improve the patient-centric nature of Destination Cardiac Rehab in anticipation of an upcoming RCT. The HEALERS offered valuable insights that informed actionable changes to the RCT protocol.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1427539/fullcardiac rehabilitationtelehealthvirtual worldcommunity engaged researchhealthcare equity patientcaregiver |
| spellingShingle | Helayna Abraham Grace Patrice Anyetei-Anum Ashton Krogman Donald Clark Melvin Echols Michael E. Hall Karen Hodgman Brian Kaihoi Stephen Kopecky Shawn Leth Shaista Malik Jill Marsteller Lena Mathews Robert Scales Phillip Schulte Adam Shultz Julie Becker Bryan Taylor Randal Thomas Nathan D. Wong Thomas Olson LaPrincess C. Brewer LaPrincess C. Brewer The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial Frontiers in Digital Health cardiac rehabilitation telehealth virtual world community engaged research healthcare equity patient caregiver |
| title | The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial |
| title_full | The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial |
| title_fullStr | The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial |
| title_short | The HEALERS: a patient, community, and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial |
| title_sort | healers a patient community and stakeholder advisory board focus group series to refine a novel virtual world based cardiac rehabilitation intervention and clinical trial |
| topic | cardiac rehabilitation telehealth virtual world community engaged research healthcare equity patient caregiver |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1427539/full |
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