Home-based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

This project aims to assess the short-term effectiveness and responsiveness of a home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program (reabilitAR) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is also an aim to establish the minimal clinically important differences for PR in patients with COPD for a novel incremental step test (exercise capacity outcome measure). Patients will be recruited at hospitals. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, and comorbidities; vital signs and peripheral oxygen saturation; symptoms (dyspnea, fatigue); lung function; functional capacity; exercise capacity; the impact of the disease, balance, and cognitive function will be collected before the reabilitAR program. Additionally, health care utilization will be registered. Then, patients will be entered into the reabilitAR program (12 weeks). The intervention consists in a strategic mixture of home visits and phone calls. The program includes exercise training and the self-management educational program Living Well with COPD. After 12 weeks all outcome measures will be reassessed. It is expected that the home-based approach will express benefits and reflect the concerns to provide appropriate responses to the patient's needs by increasing access to PR.