Welcome...
Improving completion of Pulmonary Rehabilitation with PR-buddies.
Welcome...
Improving completion of Pulmonary Rehabilitation with PR-buddies.
IMPROVE is a research trial funded by The National Institute of Health and Care Research, based at King’s College London, aimed at improving quality of life for patients with COPD
Trial background
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the second most common lung disease in the UK. For every 22 people over 40, one is diagnosed with COPD. That’s over a million people nationwide.
Day to day, COPD causes coughing, shortness of breath, and extreme or rapid tiredness that affects peoples’ ability to do normal activities. Flare-ups of the condition can need hospital treatment.
Each year over forty-four thousand COPD patients are referred for Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR), the current best treatment for the symptoms and disability of COPD. Unfortunately, 6 in 10 patients referred for PR do not complete it. Reasons given include travel problems, low mood, uncertainty about the benefits of PR, and embarrassment or fear of being shamed about smoking.
Lay health workers (LHWs) are people who help out in a healthcare context, but who are not doctors, nurses, or any other type of medical staff. LHWs are effective in a range of health issues, but they have not been used much in the NHS. This study is based around a type of LHW called a ’PR-buddy’. We have shown in previous research that PR-buddies can be recruited and trained to support COPD patients referred for PR.
The idea for PR-buddies came from the trial chief investigator Patrick White and the COPD patient advisory group at King’s College London who helped to develop the ideas about the PR-buddy role. The patient advisory group are all people with COPD who have benefitted from PR themselves.
Aims
We want to improve quality of life for people with COPD by increasing the number of patients who complete PR.
We want to know if trained volunteer PR-buddies are effective, efficient and acceptable in improving patients’ completion of PR. We also want to know if PR-buddy training and partnering PR-buddies with patients can be incorporated into Pulmonary Rehabilitation services.
What is Pulmonary Rehabilitation?
Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is the best treatment we currently have for the symptoms and disability of COPD. It helps reduce and manage the symptoms, improving patients’ quality of life, as well as their ability to be more active and do the things that they normally like to do. PR consists of classes where patients do individual activity programmes under the guidance of PR staff, and receive information on how to manage their symptoms. Over forty-four thousand COPD patients are referred for PR every year, but only 4 in 10 complete the classes and receive the benefits.
What is a PR-buddy?
This study is based around a type of lay health worker trained to support patients referred for PR, our patient advisors call ‘PR-buddies.’ These are patients who have completed PR themselves and who volunteer to support patients referred for PR. The PR-buddies in our previous research were enthusiastic, committed volunteers, and patients welcomed their support.
