Educational and behavioral strategies related to knowledge of and participation in an exercise program after cardiac positron emission tomography.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the difference between educational strategies alone and educational plus behavioral strategies on patients' knowledge of and participation in an exercise program aimed at modifying the cardiac risk factor of physical inactivity. Educational strategies employed were providing verbal and written information, tailoring to individuals' needs, and collaborating with patients. Behavioral strategies employed were goal-setting, self-monitoring, positive reinforcement and telephone follow-up at 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks. Fifty-four subjects without coronary heart disease as determined by positron emission tomography scanning were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. Knowledge, frequency and duration of exercise were evaluated before the program and over the telephone 6 and 12 weeks after the education. Repeated measures of multivariate analysis of variance demonstrated significant increases in knowledge and exercise for both groups. The combination of strategies was more effective than educational strategies alone in improving patients' exercise frequency at 6 weeks.