Objective: Gaining too much or too little weight in pregnancy (according to Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines) negatively affects both mother and child, but many women find it difficult to manage their gestational weight gain (GWG). Here we describe the use of the intervention mapping protocol to design ‘Come On!’, an intervention to promote adequate GWG among healthy pregnant women. Design: We used the six steps of intervention mapping: (i) needs assessment; (ii) formulation of change objectives; (iii) selection of theory-based methods and practical strategies; (iv) development of the intervention programme; (v) development of an adoption and implementation plan; and (vi) development of an evaluation plan. A consortium of users and related professionals guided the process of development. Results: As a result of the needs assessment, two goals for the intervention were formulated: (i) helping healthy pregnant women to stay within the IOM guidelines for GWG; and (ii) getting midwives to adequately support the efforts of healthy pregnant women to gain weight within the IOM guidelines. To reach these goals, change objectives and determinants influencing the change objectives were formulated. Theories used were the Transtheoretical Model, Social Cognitive Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Practical strategies to use the theories were the foundation for the development of ‘Come On!’, a comprehensive programme that included a tailored Internet programme for pregnant women, training for midwives, an information card for midwives, and a scheduled discussion between the midwife and the pregnant woman during pregnancy. The programme was pre-tested and evaluated in an effect study.
Background: Remote coaching might be suited for providing information and support to patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) in the vulnerable phase between hospital discharge and the start of cardiac rehabilitation (CR).Objective: The goal of the research was to explore and summarize information and support needs of patients with CAD and develop an early remote coaching program providing tailored information and support.Methods: We used the intervention mapping approach to develop a remote coaching program. Three steps were completed in this study: (1) identification of information and support needs in patients with CAD, using an exploratory literature study and semistructured interviews, (2) definition of program objectives, and (3) selection of theory-based methods and practical intervention strategies.Results: Our exploratory literature study (n=38) and semistructured interviews (n=17) identified that after hospital discharge, patients with CAD report a need for tailored information and support about CAD itself and the specific treatment procedures, medication and side effects, physical activity, and psychological distress. Based on the preceding steps, we defined the following program objectives: (1) patients gain knowledge on how CAD and revascularization affect their bodies and health, (2) patients gain knowledge about medication and side effects and adhere to their treatment plan, (3) patients know which daily physical activities they can and can’t do safely after hospital discharge and are physically active, and (4) patients know the psychosocial consequences of CAD and know how to discriminate between harmful and harmless body signals. Based on the preceding steps, a remote coaching program was developed with the theory of health behavior change as a theoretical framework with behavioral counseling and video modeling as practical strategies for the program.Conclusions: This study shows that after (acute) cardiac hospitalization, patients are in need of information and support about CAD and revascularization, medication and side effects, physical activity, and psychological distress. In this study, we present the design of an early remote coaching program based on the needs of patients with CAD. The development of this program constitutes a step in the process of bridging the gap from hospital discharge to start of CR.
Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Dutch Research Council INTRODUCTION Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is the cornerstone of secondary prevention. After hospital discharge, patients have to wait for participation in CR while often feeling overwhelmed by their cardiac event and in need of tailored information and support. PURPOSE The objective of this study was to develop a remote (digital) intervention to bridge the gap from hospital discharge to CR. METHODS We developed an intervention by completing the first three steps of the intervention mapping protocol. Step 1: identification of information- and support needs from the literature and semi-structured interviews. Step 2: Describing performance objectives for the intervention and selecting determinants. Step 3: Generation of program themes and theory based change methods. RESULTS (Step 1) The following Information- and support needs were identified from the literature (n = 33) and semi structured interviews (n = 22): information about pathology and intervention, medication and side effects, daily physical activities, psychological distress, body signals and social support. Advanced communication and pedagogical skills of the health care provider and the ability to build trust were described as important prerequisites for the intervention. (Step 2) The following performance objectives were formulated: (1) Patients gain knowledge on how their cardiac illness and procedure affects their bodies and health, (2) Patients gain knowledge about medication and side effects, (3) Patients know which daily physical activities they can and can’t do after hospital discharge and are physically active, (4) Patients and informal caregivers can deal with psychological distress and know how to discriminate between harmful and harmless body signals. Objectives were described per determinant (knowledge, skill, attitude, social influence, self-efficacy and outcome expectation). (Step 3) A comprehensive remote intervention was developed using theory based coaching strategies, a digital patient platform and information videoclips. CONCLUSION This study describes the information and support needs of patients after cardiac hospitalization and offers a remote intervention that bridges the gap form hospital discharge to CR. Abstract Figure. BRIDGE2CARE
