Effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation programs vs standard care on medication adherence in eligible cardiovascular disease patients: a systematic review protocol

Objective: To measure the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation programs on medication adherence in eligible cardiovascular disease patients.
Introduction: Poor adherence to long-term medications increases the risk of morbidity, decreases quality of life, and increases mortality rates in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Several strategies have been trialled to improve medication adherence in patients with cardiovascular disease, one of which is cardiac rehabilitation programs. Although evidence has indicated that cardiac rehabilitation programs increase medication adherence, the magnitude of its effectiveness and translation into clinical practice is not well documented. Thus, a systematic review will be conducted to collect and analyze the available evidence for clinical practice implementation.
Inclusion criteria: Only randomized controlled trials will be included. If randomized controlled trials are not available, quasi-experiments, case-control studies, observational and other studies will be included to meet the objective of the study. Studies that measured effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation programs compared to standard care on medication adherence in eligible cardiovascular disease patients will be included.
Methods: Databases including MEDLINE (via Ovid), Emcare (via Ovid), Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials in English languages will be included. Articles will be screened and reviewed by two independent reviewers for inclusion. Critical appraisal tools will be applied to the included studies. Data will be extracted using appropriate extraction tools and synthesized for the objectives of the study. Databases including MEDLINE (via Ovid), Emcare (via Ovid), Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials in all languages will be included. Articles will be screened and reviewed by two independent reviewers for inclusion. Critical appraisal tools will be applied to the included studies. Data will be extracted using appropriate extraction tools and synthesized for the objectives of the study.