Patients’ acceptability of a patient-reported outcome measure in cardiac rehabilitation (the PRO-Heart-DK)—a mixed methods study using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) are increasingly applied in clinical settings in order to enhance patient involvement and patient management. The use of PROM in practice is, like any other healthcare intervention, depending on the patients’ accept. Applying survey and interview as methods, this study explored patients’ acceptability of a PROM in cardiac rehabilitation clinical practice using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. Overall, the findings indicate that many patients with ischemic heart disease consider PROM to be relevant and useful as part of the cardiac rehabilitation process which suggest high level of acceptability. However, some aspects of the PROM, specifically the perceived questionnaire relevance, comprehensiveness and structure (e.g. lack of suitable response-options) need further improvement to enhance patients’ acceptability and ensure their future engagement.