Kinesiophobia in heart disease: ‘it is part of the process’ or is it? Perspectives from cardiac rehabilitation professionals – a qualitative study in healthcare settings

Objectives To explore cardiac rehabilitation (CR) professionals’ perspectives on kinesiophobia in patients with cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to understand the perspectives of healthcare professionals (HCPs) regarding their perceptions, assessments and management of kinesiophobia. Design A qualitative descriptive study using in-depth interviews and thematic analysis. Setting The study was carried out through online interviews at a university teaching hospital in South India. Participants HCPs involved in CR, from around the world, were invited to participate through advertisements on social media and through professional forums. 12 HCPs, including CR nurses (n=1), CR physicians (n=1), cardiac surgeons (n=1), cardiac electrophysiologists (n=1), rehabilitation physicians (n=1), cardiologists (n=2), exercise physiologists (n=2) and physiotherapists (n=3), agreed to participate. Interventions Not applicable (qualitative study without interventions). Primary and secondary outcome measures Qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews focused on HCP perceptions regarding kinesiophobia and its assessment, management and awareness within CR. Results Thematic analysis generated 337 codes, which formed seven subthemes: the perceived burden of kinesiophobia, reasons for kinesiophobia, HCP experiences with kinesiophobia, methods of assessing kinesiophobia, management strategies, reasons why kinesiophobia is overlooked and the importance of promoting awareness of kinesiophobia. Conclusions CR professionals recognise kinesiophobia as a significant issue among patients with heart disease but do not recognise the term or perceive it as a separate condition; instead, they view it as part of the overall clinical presentation. There is a strong need to advocate for early recognition and assessment of kinesiophobia and for the development of structured management strategies and its inclusion into CR programmes to improve patient outcomes during recovery.