Aldhahir Abdulelah M, Alqahtani Jaber S, Alghamdi Saeed M, Alqarni Abdullah A, Khormi Shahad K, Alwafi Hassan, Samannodi Mohammed, Siraj Rayan A, Alhotye Munyra, Naser Abdallah Y, Hakamy Ali
Respiratory Therapy Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Respiratory Care, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam 34313, Saudi Arabia.
Healthcare (Basel). 2022 May 13;10(5):904. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10050904.
This study aimed to assess physicians’ attitudes toward delivering pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and identify factors and barriers that might influence referral decisions. Between September 2021 and January 2022, a cross-sectional online survey was distributed to all physicians in Saudi Arabia. A total of 502 physicians completed the online survey, of which 62.0% (n = 312) were male. General physicians accounted for 51.2%, while internal-medicine specialists and pulmonologists accounted for 26.9% and 6.6%, respectively. Only 146 (29%) physicians had referred COPD patients to a PR program. The difference in referral rates between all specialties (p = 0.011) was statistically significant. Physicians with more years of experience were more likely to refer COPD patients to PR (p < 0.001). Moreover, a home-based PR program was preferred by 379 physicians (75.5%), and 448 (89.2%) perceived smoking cessation as an essential component of PR. Availability of PR centers (69%) was the most common barrier for not referring patients to PR. The overall referral rate was low among all physicians, owing to a lack of PR centers and trained staff. Home-based delivery was the preferred method of delivering PR, with smoking cessation as an essential component.
本研究旨在评估医生对为慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)患者提供肺康复(PR)的态度,并确定可能影响转诊决策的因素和障碍。在2021年9月至2022年1月期间,向沙特阿拉伯的所有医生开展了一项横断面在线调查。共有502名医生完成了在线调查,其中62.0%(n = 312)为男性。全科医生占51.2%,而内科专家和肺科医生分别占26.9%和6.6%。只有146名(29%)医生将COPD患者转诊至PR项目。所有专科之间的转诊率差异(p = 0.011)具有统计学意义。经验更丰富的医生更有可能将COPD患者转诊至PR(p < 0.001)。此外,379名医生(75.5%)更喜欢居家PR项目,448名(89.2%)认为戒烟是PR的重要组成部分。PR中心的可及性(69%)是不将患者转诊至PR的最常见障碍。由于缺乏PR中心和训练有素的工作人员,所有医生的总体转诊率较低。居家提供是PR的首选方式,戒烟是重要组成部分。