Study design and eligibility criteria
We conducted a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study with a convenience
sample of patients and clinicians from an urban hospital in Queens, New
York, that is affiliated with New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill
Cornell Medical Center, a large New York City health system. The
hospital cares for a patient population that is highly diverse with
respect to race/ethnicity and primary language, as there are a broad
range of immigrant communities living in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Eligible patients were age 18 and older and had undergone an ablation at
the hospital within the past 18 months; the duration was chosen to
reduce recall bias while still including a range of perspectives based
on the amount of elapsed time since the ablation. Eligible clinicians
included physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who
are involved in the care of patients undergoing AF ablation at the
hospital. Patients and clinicians provided verbal informed consent and
completed semi-structured interviews. Patients also completed several
validated surveys. Patients received $25 as compensation for their
time. The Weill Cornell Medicine Institutional Review Board approved
this study.