Which chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients will be likely to attend consistently a pulmonary rehabilitation program?

INTRODUCTION

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and millions of COPD patients are disabled and unable to work. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programs are available to assist with disability, but it is not clear who is likely to consistently participate in them. The purpose of this study was to determine which participants were likely to consistently attend a PR program.

METHODS

A retrospective medical record review was used to assess 104 community-dwelling adults with COPD who completed the PR program at a Midwest medical center between 2000 and 2005.

SAMPLE

The sample consisted of 32 men and 72 women with a mean age of 59.9 years (±19.10 years), mean predicted one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV(1)) of 46.45% (SD = 20.1), mean percent forced vital capacity (FVC%) of 67.61 (SD = 16.61), mean FEV(1)/FVC% ratio of 51.15% (SD = 18.17), and mean residual volume (RV) of 150.66% (SD = 67.01).

RESULTS

Contextual variables of current smoking (beta = -.36), male sex (beta = .19), not having emphysema (beta = -.27), and FVC% (beta = .32) were significant predictors of attendance at (a dose of) PR. The number of selected comorbidities significantly predicted the dose of PR (beta = -.20).

CONCLUSION

These findings support the ability to identify factors that predict attendance at a PR program. Nurses can assess patients at risk for lack of consistent PR attendance and implement interventions to improve attendance. Specifically, smoking cessation prior to or as an integral part of PR programs may improve attendance.