Limitations

There are potential limitations to this research to be addressed. First, the problem of physician bias in referral has been a constant problem for CR participants. One of the reasons for this is that physicians don’t perceive women as needing it, or they believe that they will not attend (Beckstead, et al., 2013). Educating doctors on this implicit bias, and the need for women to attend CR just as much as men, will be an important step in ensuring that all eligible participants are referred. Another way to overcome this potential in bias is to have an approved third party remove all identifying information except for the cardiac indicators. Then have a doctor review the patient data and refer CR solely on the cardiac problem.
A second limitation to this research is the size of the catchment area. Due to the large size of the area, there will be multiple sites in which the research will be taking place. This however is necessary to ensure that as many eligible participants as possible are reached. To make sure that there are no consistency issues due to the multiple sites, all researchers should undergo identical training, and have open lines of communication with each other at all times.