Rural patients’ experience of education, surveillance, and self-care support after heart disease related hospitalisation: a qualitative study

People living in rural Iceland have a higher rate of cardiovascular risk factors and healthcare utilisation compared to people in urban areas. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of people with coronary heart disease, living in rural Iceland regarding patient education, surveillance, and self-care support. The participants (N = 14, age 52‒79 years, 8 male), were interviewed 6 to 12 months after hospital discharge following a cardiac event (in 2018‒2019). Systematic text-condensation was used for analysis. The findings were categorised into three main themes: Education and support describes inadequate patient education and support from health-care professionals after discharge from hospital and how the internet was the main information source supplemented with spouse’s and family support. Local healthcare services describe the lack of and importance of access to health-care professionals, stable services, and underutilisation of telemedicine and primary healthcare in the local area, and Self-care behaviour describes the lack of professional support with lifestyle changes and how the participants manage self-care as well as their attitudes towards the disease. The results indicate that access to continuous healthcare services and person-centred support focusing on prevention strategies are widely impaired in rural areas in Iceland.