The effectiveness of an unsupervised home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with self-management program in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Abstract

To assess the effectiveness of an unsupervised home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with self-management program in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A few recent studies have shown that unsupervised home-based pulmonary rehabilitation can improve the clinical outcome of patients with COPD. More studies are needed to prove its benefits. This study used a quasi-experimental design. Seventy-two admitted COPD patients were assigned to experimental group or control group through purposeful sampling. Data were collected from March 2016 to November 2017 in the Thoracic Intensive Care Unit of a Medical Center in Taiwan. The Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, the COPD Self-Efficacy Scale and the Clinical COPD Questionnaire were measured before education and at the first, second and third months after discharge. The Medical Research Council dyspnea scale and COPD Self-Efficacy Scale results in the experimental group were significantly improved compared with the control group in the third month after discharge. The Clinical COPD Questionnaire score continued to improve in both groups in the third month after discharge, and there was no difference between the two groups. A short-term unsupervised home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with self- management program had significant benefits for patients with COPD. The long-term effects need to be confirmed.