Comparing Online Pulmonary Rehabilitation 'myPR' Versus Conventional Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients With COPD

Over time, patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) develop progressive symptoms of breathlessness, which can limit day-to-day activities and tolerance to exercise. Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is an established intervention in the management of COPD and is a structured programme of exercise training and education. Pulmonary Rehabilitation encourages and enables patients to improve their exercise capacity incrementally over the course of a six-week programme. An established evidence base has placed PR at the centre of interventions for COPD and its provision is mandated by NICE as a key pillar of integrated care. Currently, the provision of PR in the NHS is limited to group sessions run over an established protocol of 6 weeks. Whilst this has been demonstrated to improve exercise capacity, access to PR classes can be problematic for some patients. Also, staff and facility resources limit delivering the programme at scale. An online PR programme developed by my mhealth known as 'myPR', in consultation with patients and physiotherapy experts, offers an alternative provision of this important intervention. The study aims to compare this online PR programme to conventional face-to-face PR as currently delivered by the NHS. The study aims to recruit 106 patients referred for PR from Portsmouth Hospital and local Participant Identification Centres.They will then be assessed for suitability onto PR, consented and randomised onto an arm of the study. 36 will undertake a conventional PR programme as reflected in the NHS, and 70 the online PR programme known as 'myPR'. Pre and post programme measurements including walking distance and quality of life questionnaires will then be compared between each arm of the trial, to ensure that the online PR is not inferior to the conventional face-to-face PR.