Long-term Effect of an Health Education Program on Daily Physical Activity in Patients With Moderate to Very Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Main objective: To compare the level of physical activity (PAL) at 12 months in patients with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) between those who completed a health education program and those who did not. Study patients. Subjects older than 35 years; diagnosis of moderate to very severe COPD (FEV1 \10 packs x year; and hospital admission for COPD exacerbation. Design. Randomized, parallel and open-label clinical trial, controlled with conventional treatment. Intervention: During hospitalization, selected patients will receive conventional treatment. At discharge, they will be randomized (1:1) to control group \[treatment and follow-up according to conventional clinical practice\] or intervention group \[in addition to conventional treatment and follow-up, the patients will be referred to a nursing consultation for perform two health education sessions, at 15 and 30 days after hospital discharge\]. Measurements. At 15 days and 12 months after discharge, the following determinations will be made: anthropometric characteristics; clinical evaluation (smoking history, date of COPD diagnosis, comorbidities, current medication; health care utilization; moderate or severe COPD exacerbations); questionnaires (mMRC, Charlson, COPD-specific co-morbidity test (COTE), COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and LCADL), spirometry and six-minutes walking test; and evaluation of daily physical activity using an accelerometer.