To celebrate the launch of our new Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre website, we are shining a spotlight on our sports and physical activity research groups.

Colleagues from our Physical Activity, Wellbeing and Public Health Research Group are leading on the Optimising Secondary Prevention and Quality of Life in Early Cardiac Rehabilitation (OSPREY-CR) project, a multi-site study funded by AstraZeneca. A key aim of the project is to help make cardiac rehabilitation more relevant to patients, increase participation, and optimise health-related quality of life after programme completion.

Dr Simon Nichols (principal investigator), Dr Helen Humphreys (co-principal investigator), and Gabriella Frith (research assistant) have kindly provided the following overview of the OSPREY-CR project . . .

Cardiac rehabilitation is a programme of medical and lifestyle interventions offered to patients with heart disease. The programme is made up of core components which include lifestyle risk factor management, psychosocial health, medical risk management and long-term strategies. A major objective of cardiac rehabilitation is to help cardiac patients improve their health-related quality of life, which refers to a patient’s physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning. Our research aims to help understand which components of cardiac rehabilitation patients believe to have the greatest impact on their health-related quality of life in both the short and long term. Based on this understanding, we will work with patients and health practitioners to develop interventions that maximise the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation for patients across the UK.

The map indicates potential OSPREY CR research sites

Recruitment to OSPREY CR commenced in March 2021 at Aneurin Bevan Hospital in Wales. A total of 498 patients will be recruited to the OSPREY CR study which will i) Explore the reasons why patients complete and/or drop-out from early cardiac rehabilitation ii) Explore which components of the cardiac rehabilitation programme patients believe improve their health-related quality of life iii) Understand how current cardiac rehabilitation supports longer-term health behaviour change iv) Work directly with patients and practitioners to develop solutions that help patients to sustain positive health behaviour changes.

The study is being carried out across six cardiac rehabilitation sites across the UK, covering Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the North and South of England. This will lead to the development of patient-centred cardiac rehabilitation interventions which have been designed in collaboration with patients and healthcare practitioners. The proposed interventions will help overcome some of the barriers to patients attending, and completing, cardiac rehabilitation. It will also highlight the elements of cardiac rehabilitation that patients believe are most important for improving their HRQoL. We believe that this will make cardiac rehabilitation more relevant to patients, increase participation, enhance HRQoL after programme completion and lead to better self-management of a patient’s condition.

Further information about the OSPREY-CR project can be found here.