NYU Langone's Rusk Rehabilitation has partnered with the Monday Campaigns to develop an innovative online intervention aimed at improving patient learning and participation in rehabilitation activities. This collaboration has resulted in a comprehensive 13-week program designed to educate cardiac rehabilitation patients about the physical and psychological benefits of various health activities and encourage them to engage in practices for stress management, physical activity, and healthy eating.

Enhancing Cardiac Rehabilitation

The program combines existing Monday Campaigns materials with custom content developed specifically for cardiac rehabilitation patients. Key features include the following:

• Weekly email delivery: Patients receive emails through the MyChart system, connecting them to a dedicated landing page on the Monday Campaigns website.
• Comprehensive content: The landing page provides additional information and weekly practices for patients to explore and implement.
• Continuous engagement: Every Monday, patients are encouraged to learn about the benefits of each practice, perform the activity, and complete a short survey about their engagement.
• Flexible participation: The program operates on a constant rotation, allowing patients to start at any point during the 13-week cycle and even repeat it if desired.

Preliminary Results of Our Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Initial data collected from weekly and end-of-program surveys have shown promising results:

• Over half of the patients who received emails opened the messages.
• Nearly all patients who opened the emails reported they were likely to try the recommended activity.
• Recipients found the messages valuable and helpful in staying on track with their health goals.

Our Program’s Future Direction

Given the positive initial outcomes, the Rusk Rehabilitation and Healthy Monday teams continue to deliver the program and plan to conduct further evaluation to gather more feedback and refine the intervention. There are plans to potentially offer this program to other hospitals and health systems as a supplement to existing cardiac rehabilitation programs, particularly if it continues to demonstrate effectiveness in increasing patient engagement in self-driven rehabilitation activities.

This innovative approach to cardiac rehabilitation showcases the potential of combining digital health interventions with traditional rehabilitation programs to enhance patient outcomes and engagement.