Date of Award

11-4-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MScN)

First Advisor

Dr. Rubina Barolia

Second Advisor

Ms. Fauzia Basaria Hasnani

Third Advisor

Dr. Zainab Samad

Department

School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Physical activity plays a vital role in preventing and managing cardiovascular diseases and helps reduce cardiovascular disease mortality and morbidity rates. There are many barriers faced by cardiac patients that can restrict them from performing physical activity, so evaluating barriers to physical activity and addressing those barriers is of paramount importance. However, no previous studies have been conducted in Pakistan regarding this phenomenon.
Purpose: To determine the prevalence of physical inactivity, perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity, and factors associated with those barriers among cardiac patients at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional quantitative study design was used. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to recruit a total of 379 cardiac patients from the cardiac inpatient and outpatient units of the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Data was collected from the study participants by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS), and the Barriers to Appropriate Physical Activity in CAD Patients (BAPAC) scale. A questionnaire for the demographic details was prepared based on the previous researches. Moreover, descriptive analysis was used to assess the prevalence of prevalence inactivity, perceived facilitators, and barriers to physical activity. The association of prevalence rate, socio-demographic, and clinical characteristics with barriers to physical activity was assessed by using an independent t-test and one-way ANOVA. 4
Findings: The study enrolled 332 (236 males and 96 females) cardiac patients. The findings of the study revealed that 45.5% of the cardiac patients were physically inactive. The overall mean facilitator score was 134.16 with a standard deviation of 14.982. The overall mean barriers score by using EBBS was 57.68 (SD ± 8.582) and by using BAPAC was 41.57 (SD ± 6.529). Moreover, the analysis of independent variables showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between prevalence rate, monthly income, educational status, episodes of heart attack, and past medical history with the barriers to physical activity.
Conclusion: This study's findings shed light on the perceived barriers to physical activity among cardiac patients, emphasizing the need to assess physical activity levels and their barriers regularly. Implications should focus on including cardiac rehabilitation and physical activity assessment in the daily routine care of cardiac patients and establish such policies and guidelines in the hospital setting that can include teaching sessions regarding the barriers to physical activity and the ways to overcome those barriers in cardiac patients for the healthcare providers.

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1

Last Page

107

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