TY - JOUR T1 - Feasibility and effectiveness of an educational program in COPD (COPD-EP) JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 38 IS - Suppl 55 SP - p1267 AU - Mara Paneroni AU - Enrico Clini AU - Ernesto Crisafulli AU - Enrico Guffanti AU - Alessia Fumagalli AU - Antonella Bernasconi AU - Antonella Cambiaglia AU - Antonello Nicolini AU - Stefania Brogi AU - Nicolino Ambrosino AU - Roberta Peroni AU - Luca Bianchi AU - Michele Vitacca Y1 - 2011/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p1267.abstract N2 - Introduction: Self-management is essential to improve outcomes and to reduce social costs in COPD patients. This may be obtained through a specific education.Aim: We tested a hospital-based COPD-EP aiming at evaluating: 1) the basal patients' knowledge on disease and therapies, 2) the feasibility of the program, 3) the program learning effect.Methods: COPD patients with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score > 20 were included. All subjects received a written brochure and attended seven 30-min educational group sessions. A multidisciplinary team was in charge for education. A multiple-choice 20-item questionnaire (KI) to test the learning effect was administered pre and post EP.Results: One-hundred-fifty-eight patients (71±8 years) of different degree of severity were included and completed the study in six different hospitals. The number of correct answers (from 14,4±3,3 to 16,9±2,9) and the rate of patients who correctly answered to all questions (from 5,1% to 21,5%) significantly improved post EP. Figure shows the frequency distribution of correct answers pre (left panel) and post (right panel) program.Conclusion: The level of knowledge on the disease seems to be quite sufficient in this population of COPD. Nonetheless, our program is highly feasible and may determine a further gain in the educational level of the patients. These preliminary data warrant future research to validate specific learning instruments and/or strategies. ER -