Effects of a problem-based learning rehabilitation program on physical activity in patients with coronary artery disease.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a problem-based learning (PBL) rehabilitation program on physical activity.

Methods: We randomized 207 consecutive patients younger than 70 years, with a recent event of coronary artery disease (CAD), to a PBL group (n = 104) or a control group (n = 103). In addition to standard treatment, the PBL patients participated in a 1-year program with 13 sessions in small groups, where learning needs and behavior change were focused upon. Physical activity was assessed by means of interviews with all patients and by an activity monitor in 69 patients at pretest and in 175 after 1 year.

Results: Only small differences between groups were found at posttest. Interview data revealed significantly less activity at low-intensity level in the control group, whereas the activity monitor showed no significant differences. No changes were found in total physical activity during the year within the 2 groups. The self-reported physical activity indicating a level of brisk walking was markedly higher than that measured by the activity monitor, the latter indicating that only 35% of the patients achieved a 10-minute period of continued physical activity per day on an adequate level.

Conclusions: Our PBL program had no important impact on the physical activity pattern of patients with CAD. The activity monitor is a feasible way of measuring physical activity in these patients, indicating a lower level of physical activity than interview data.