Evaluation of a pulmonary rehabilitation program in Hong Kong

Abstract

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a multi-disciplinary approach to management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. After the program, patients gain the ability to adapt to their chronic lung disease, independence, life satisfaction and self-esteem is promoted. Starting in 1998. PR programs were implemented in some hospitals in Hong Kong. The aim of this study was to evaluate a multi-disciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation program. Retrospective case review was conducted with 53 patients with disabling chronic lung disease who had participated in a 4 weeks multi-disciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation program. Findings showed that the PR program encompassing education, breathing retraining, chest physiotherapy, followed by exercise training leads to improvement in functional exercise capacity, knowledge related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care, and health related quality of life (HRQL) which included dyspnea, fatigue, emotion and mastery. The study did not show significant reduction in the rate of Accident and Emergency visits and length of study for hospitalization one year prior to and following the program.