Rehabilitation in lung diseases: ‘Education’ component of pulmonary rehabilitation

Abstract

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a complex intervention with described core components of individualized exercise training and inter-disciplinary education in international guidelines. Compared to the overwhelming evidence of benefit for exercise training, the education component has received little attention. Educating patients about their symptoms and disease management appears intuitive to improve their health, but how and when is less clear. PR has provided an opportunity for educational activities and traditionally this has been delivered in the form of didactic lectures. The field is evolving and challenges are apparent raising important questions. What is the purpose and outcomes of the education component? Do specific diseases require specific education or PR programmes? How to provide interdisciplinary education? Is the timing optimal within the disease trajectory (most patients are referred to PR with moderate to severe disease)? Can technology help? Our review explores the recent evidence for the 'education' component of PR synthesizing the global guidelines. We discuss the challenges for patients as learners, healthcare professionals as educators and propose future directions for this core component of PR.

Revisiting pulmonary rehabilitation during COVID-19 pandemic: a narrative review

“…This is an imperative concept to the rehabilitation program. Education of the patient to non-pharmacological therapies in PR helps in improving adherence [26]. Education has a strong association with modification in health behaviors, self-management, and health-related outcomes [26].…”

“…Education of the patient to non-pharmacological therapies in PR helps in improving adherence [26]. Education has a strong association with modification in health behaviors, self-management, and health-related outcomes [26]. The approach has been evolving, but the most commonly used methods are didactic lectures through web-based applications or social media platforms [23].…”

Protocol for the cultural adaptation of pulmonary rehabilitation and subsequent testing in a randomised controlled feasibility trial for adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Sri Lanka

“…Intervention: adapted PR Sri Lankan-specific PR will comprise the core elements of an evidence-based rehabilitation, a programme of exercises 13 14 and health education. [13][14][15] The detail of delivery and adaptations of PR will be informed by findings of the phase 1 of the study. PR is typically a 6-week rolling programme that consists of 12 sessions in total.…”

Optimizing health in chronic lung diseases: What did we learn from the experts in pulmonary rehabilitation?

“…The definition of PR includes ‘patient‐tailored therapies for education and behaviour change’. In their review on this topic, Blackstock and Evans highlight that, while clinicians might be content experts, they are not necessarily education specialists and need to learn how to design appropriate education activities for patients. In addition, motivational interviewing to affect behaviour change and adherence to therapies such as exercise training is yet to be evaluated.…”