The full thesis
For those wanting to view the full online published thesis, it can be found at:
Once on that page, click on the link to the right under 'Access to Document'.
Each section in the full file has been summarised below in a way that is easier to understand for MOOVPAD viewers. Click on the coloured headings below to jump to more details on that section.
Introductory Sections
These chapters introduce the background and rationale behind the work that was done, and the methods used.
Literature Review
This 'Literature Review' (Chapter 2) provides the background discussion for the research studies.
Methods
The 'Methods' section (Chapter 3) provides the methodology to all of the different studies.
Prospective Studies
These involved working with new patients as they arrived at Mt Druitt and Westmead Hospitals. We've left out the long discussions from these chapters, and included just the results. Full discussions can be found in the complete thesis file above. We've also added 'Simplified Summary' points along the way, to help clarify in simple terms.
Clinical NICER Pilot
This study (Chapter 15) is where the new type of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program was tested on a small group of patients at Mt Druitt Hospital (N = 10, males = 7). This was the first ever application of the initial framework of Physiologic Algorithms of Physical Exertion (PAPE).
BARE-Q Study
To find out more about how patients perceived and managed barriers to their rehabilitation, this BARE-Q questionnaire (Chapter 14) was applied at Westmead Hospital. The BARE-Q study revealed new insights into patient perceptions and the use of natural remedies.
Retrospective Studies
These were studies involving patient records from the standard current practice intervention (exercise-based CR using high-intensity interval training) from previous years at Westmead Hospital. These studies produced some really useful insights seen for the first time, and revealed new trends in outcomes.
Resting outcomes in non-MI
Chapter 4 - analysing post-program resting physiology outcomes in patients without a history of myocardial infarction (MI), who were grouped by gender, pre-program blood pressure and metabolic syndrome comorbidities.
Resting outcomes in MI
Chapter 8 - analysing post-program resting physiology outcomes in patients with a history of myocardial infarction (MI), who were grouped by gender, pre-program blood pressure and metabolic syndrome comorbidities.
Peak outcomes in non-MI
Chapter 5 - analysing post-program peak physiology outcomes in patients without a history of MI, who were grouped by gender, pre-program blood pressure and metabolic syndrome comorbidities.
Outcomes in non-MI by age
Chapter 6 - analysing post-program resting and peak physiology outcomes in patients without a history of MI, who were grouped by gender and age groups.
Outcomes in non-MI by BMI
Chapter 7 - analysing post-program resting and peak physiology outcomes in patients without a history of MI, who were grouped by gender and body mass index (BMI).
Meds & outcomes in non-MI
Chapter 12 - analysing post-program resting and peak physiology outcomes in patients without a history of MI, who were grouped by gender and medication use.
Peak outcomes in MI
Chapter 9 - analysing post-program peak physiology outcomes in patients with a history of MI, who were grouped by gender, pre-program blood pressure and metabolic syndrome comorbidities.
Outcomes in MI by age
Chapter 10 - analysing post-program resting and peak physiology outcomes in patients with a history of MI, who were grouped by gender and age groups.
Outcomes in MI by BMI
Chapter 11 - analysing post-program resting and peak physiology outcomes in patients with a history of MI, who were grouped by gender and body mass index (BMI).
Meds & outcomes in MI
Chapter 13 - analysing post-program resting and peak physiology outcomes in patients with a history of MI, who were grouped by gender and medication use.
Wrap-up Sections
These chapters summarised and integrated findings from all the different studies to form a cohesive picture, and explained the need for further research, as well as the limits of the work that was done.
Integrating the findings
This part (Chapter 16) brings the results together from all the research studies above in Chapters 4-15, to form complete pictures.
Conclusions
This final part (Chapter 18) summarises all of the many conclusions from the project.
Limitations & Implications
Describes the limits that should be considered when interpreting the results, and implications of the work (Chapter 17).
References
Provides a listing of all the references used in the various sections above (in all, a total of 282 sources were used).