The meaning of cardiac rehabilitation to patients

Abstract

In this thesis, I take an anthropological approach (using ethnographic methods) to explore the meaning of a cardiac rehabilitation program in Calgary, Alberta (Cardiac Wellness Institute of Calgary (CWIC)) to its patients. Cardiac rehabilitation programs are exercise-based secondary prevention for individuals suffering from a range of heart problems. Through education classes and supervised exercise sessions, such programs aim to improve heart patients' overall fitness, and promote lifestyle habits which can reduce risk of further disease. I examined how the meaning patients attribute to the program fits within two different theoretical conceptions of cardiac rehabilitation; as a site where power and surveillance discipine non-conforming (unhealthy) bodies, or as a site where medical practices constitute an ideal form of care. I demonstrate how the meaning patients attribute relates to the elements of their experience and the structure of the program which fall under an overarching "logic of care" (Mol 2008).