Research Community News

Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can be challenging, but with the right support, many people with COPD can live active, healthy lives. Research plays an important role in this by helping us understand what works best for patients. Lots of research has shown that Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is an important treatment to help you manage your COPD and stay well. Traditionally, PR is a face-to-face programme held twice a week for 6-8 weeks. Digital PR is like traditional PR, but you access it by using an app. Both traditional and digital PR programmes offer information and support to help you build up your strength and become more active, learn how to manage your symptoms, avoid flare-ups, stay out of hospital, and feel better in your daily life. my mhealth and an NHS respiratory team carried out a Research Study to see if there were any differences between traditional and digital PR programmes. What We Did After a check-up from the healthcare team, 90 people with COPD joined the study and were split into two groups at random. One group did traditional PR in a centre local to them. The other group used a digital version through an app instead of going to all the face-to-face sessions. Both programmes had the same information and lasted for 6 weeks. To see if there were any differences between the two groups, we looked at three main things before and after both 6-week PR programmes: • How far people could walk in six minutes (6-minute walk test). • COPD symptoms using the COPD Assessment Test (CAT). • Anxiety and depression levels What We Found Patients in both PR groups improved in exercise, symptoms and anxiety. The results showed us that using digital PR was as good as traditional PR and that both PR programmes are safe and well-tolerated by patients. What This Means for you This means that digital PR can be used as an extra support tool to help you stay well. Some people use it alongside traditional PR, some use it to replace a few sessions, and others do it entirely from home — but still come in for a check-up before and after the programme. One of the great things about digital PR is that you can use it as much or as little as you like, and it’s always there when you need it.