Increasing Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation Among Medicaid Enrollees

The number of patients who completed cardiac rehabilitation (CR) as defined as greater than or equal to 30 sessions. Must have been completed within 4 months of the entry stress test.

Secondary outcomes included changes between baseline and 4-month assessment in fitness (peak oxygen uptake directly measured by expired gas analysis or estimated by metabolic equivalents), body composition (body mass index, waist circumference), and quality of life (MacNew).The MacNew was designed to evaluate how daily activities and physical,emotional and social functioning are affected by heart disease and its treatment. It consists of 27 questions grouped into 3 domains: physical, mental and social functioning. Both subscales and summary score are interpreted as scores between 1 and 7; higher scores are better, and a change of at least 0.5 is a useful indicator of the minimal important difference.Changes over time were assessed using paired differences in scores from intake to four months. Due to non-normal distributions, Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used. Contributions of other variables to changes in secondary outcomes were examined using analyses of covariance.

The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEABA) is an integrated system of multi-informant assessments, including self-reports, to measure adaptive functioning and problems. The problem items have been factor-analytically reduced to 8 syndrome scales that are consistent across age, informant and culture. Higher scores represent higher symptoms (e.g. emotional/behavioral problems). The Stop Signal Reaction Time (SSRT) task measures the ability to inhibit incorrect responses. Lower scores represent a better ability to inhibit reactions. The BRIEF-A is a rating scale developed to look at everyday behaviors associated with specific domains of executive functions in adults ages 18-90.T-scores (standardized scores) are used to interpret the individual's level of executive functioning (EF). Higher scores represent more self-reported problems. A score of 50 represents the mean.A difference of 10 from the mean indicates a difference of one standard deviation (SD).

Changes in measures of physical health and fitness (peak oxygen uptake, metabolic equivalents, waist circumference, BMI, treadmill time, smoking status, perceived quality of life) will be measured from completion of intervention (4 months) to 8 months later (1 year follow-up).

Changes in measures of mental health (Beck Depression Inventory, Adult Self-Report) as well as changes in measures of executive function (Trail Making and Tower tasks, Delay Discounting, Time Perspective Questionnaire, Stop Signal Task, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) will be measured from completion of intervention (4 months) to 8 months later (1 year follow-up).

Health care costs (cost of delivering care at the cardiac rehabilitation clinic as well as hospital costs) will be calculated from study entry to one year follow-up.

Costs to the patient of attending care (transportation, child/elder care, missed wages) will be calculated from study entry to one year follow-up.