A Survey of Opinions and Attitudes Toward Exercise Following a 12-month Maintenance Exercise Program for People with COPD

Abstract

To determine the opinions and attitudes toward exercise in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had completed a randomised controlled trial of 12-months maintenance exercise. Participants were eligible for recruitment to the maintenance exercise study if they had COPD and had completed an 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation program. They were randomized into an Intervention Group (IG) that consisted of once weekly, supervised hospital-based maintenance exercise plus home exercise for 12 months or a Control Group that undertook unsupervised home maintenance exercise for 12 months. At the end of the 12 months, participants completed a survey consisting of 23 questions using a visual analogue scale (VAS) of 100 mm. Forty-eight participants completed the 12 month study and 36 participants (75%) completed the survey [IG mean (SD): age 65 (8) years, FEV1 58 (20) % predicted; CG: age 66 (8) years, FEV1 67 (17) % predicted]. No between group difference was found for the importance of exercise, the benefits of the program or the importance of support from the physiotherapist. However, the IG reported exercising more regularly, having more enjoyment of being involved in the maintenance exercise program, greater benefit in general well-being, and better physical fitness. At the completion of the 12 month exercise study, the survey results showed that all participants reported positive attitudes towards both supervised and unsupervised maintenance exercise programs, with the IG reporting greater benefits.