RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Experiences of physical activity are similar among European COPD patients
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP p293
VO 38
IS Suppl 55
A1 Corina De Jong
A1 Chrysa Feridou
A1 Ellen Drost
A1 Janneke Elberse
A1 Laura Jacobs
A1 Katja Rudell
A1 Pim De Boer
A1 Thys Van der Molen
A1 Fabienne Dobbels
YR 2011
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p293.abstract
AB Background: The PROactive consortium aims to develop Patient Reported Outcome instruments capturing physical activity (PA) in COPD patients. Qualitative studies showed that amount of PA is important, yet, when developing items, one should ascertain that the specific activities representing this theme are relevant to all patients, irrespective of demographics or cultural background.Methodology: Fifty five COPD patients with diverse demographic and disease characteristics from Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom (Scotland) and Greece were enrolled in 8 focus groups (38.2% female; 61.6% gold stage I-II; 45% ≤ 65 years), with the aim to understanding how they experience PA. The proportion of patients who expressed difficulties with activities between countries, age groups and gender were compared using non-parametric statistics.Results: The proportion of patients experiencing difficulties was similar between the 4 countries for walking, climbing stairs, chores, hobbies, carrying/lifting objects, and self-care activities. Significant differences were noted for cycling (p= 0.007), which was an activity specific to the Netherlands and Belgium only; and for walking uphill (p=0.023), which was more common in Greece and Scotland, due to the country geographic characteristics. No differences between gender and age groups (≤ 65 vs. > 65 years) were detected.Discussion: Physical activity is most likely a universal concept, as patients from diverse countries report similar activities that are affected when sharing their PA experiences. Activities that are only relevant to certain subgroups should not be selected as items in PROs on PA.Funding IMI-JU PROactive GA#115011