Evaluating The Impacts Of "INSPIRED": A New Outreach Program For Patients And Families Living With Advanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Do community hospice programmes reduce hospitalisation rate in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

“…Results of other studies have been mixed. Young and Simpson observed a substantial drop in Emergency room visits and hospitalisations in patients with COPD who received home‐based education and advanced care planning . In contrast, a randomised controlled study in COPD and chronic heart failure patients who received domiciliary palliative care service, while exhibited better outcomes on self management of illness and improved symptom control but failed to show a reduction in emergency department utilisation rate.…”

Emergency Department Utilization by Older Adults: a Descriptive Study

“…Implementation of a collaborative outreach program for a small number of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) reduced ED visits, hospital admissions, and length of stay for patients participating in the program. ( 32 ) The use of paramedics specially trained for on-site management has been shown to reduce the need for ED transport of older adults from long-term care facilities, ( 33 ) and decrease ED attendances for community-dwelling older adults with minor injuries. ( 34 )…”

Implementing a Palliative Care Trial in Advanced COPD: A Feasibility Assessment (The COPD IMPACT Study)

“…We use a mixed-methods evaluation approach and have seen a dramatic drop in ER visits and hospitalizations for our first 100 patients when comparing the years before and after enrollment. 37 Not all interventions based on self-management education have yielded positive outcomes. 30,38 In addition, it isn't yet clear why such interventions fail when they do, or whether social determinants of health are more important than diagnostic considerations in some clinical settings.…”

“…In contrast, patients and families are quite willing to participate in qualitative interviews and record videos that provide insights into changes in HRQoL, symptom burden, satisfaction with care, and many other important patient-oriented outcomes. 18,37 Those who live with advanced COPD where literacy rates are an issue consistently struggle to or don't want to complete written questionnaires. We need to learn how to most effectively assess these patient-centered issues and provide meaningful interventions without taxing an especially vulnerable population whose coping strategies are already stretched to the limit.…”