Pulmonary Rehabilitation in COPD: the Development and Feasibility of an Education Package

There is limited guidance on what should be included in the education component of pulmonary rehabilitation. International guidelines for COPD and pulmonary rehabilitation suggest numerous topics but do not provide specific information relating to the principal topics and how these should be delivered (BTS 2001, NICE 2004, ATS/ERS 2006). Recently this research team conducted focus groups of patients with COPD and established from their perspective the important education topics that should be covered in pulmonary rehabilitation, along with information on how these should be delivered (Wilson, O'Neill et al. 2008).

The Living Well with COPD (LWWCOPD) programme mostly includes these topics (Bourbeau, Julien et al. 2003). LWWCOPD, which is based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory, has been shown to significantly reduce healthcare utilisation and improve quality of life (Bourbeau, Julien et al. 2003, Bandura 1986). With modification and reformatting, the LWWCOPD programme could be delivered within the structure of pulmonary rehabilitation.

Although the LWWCOPD programme has been previously validated, it is important that the revised version is assessed for feasibility within the context of pulmonary rehabilitation. The practicality of delivering the programme and its acceptance by healthcare providers and patients should be assessed. Therefore, this study will involve a process evaluation to assess the feasibility and acceptability of using the revised LWWCOPD programme (LWWCOPD for Pulmonary Rehabilitation) to deliver the education component of pulmonary rehabilitation in Northern Ireland.