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Updated: May 31, 2026

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Nurse-led multidisciplinary programme for patients with COPD in primary health care: a controlled trial
Ann-Britt Zakrisson1, Peter Engfeldt, Doris Hägglund
1Family Medicine Research Centre, Örebro University, Sweden. ann-britt.zakrisson@orebroll.se
Aim:
To investigate the effects of a nurse-led multidisciplinary programme (NMP) of pulmonary rehabilitation in primary health care with regard to functional capacity, quality of life (QoL), and exacerbations among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Method:
A 1-year longitudinal study with a quasi-experimental design was undertaken in patients with COPD, 49 in the intervention group and 54 in the control group. Functional capacity was assessed using the 6-minute walking test, and quality of life (QoL) was assessed using the Clinical COPD Questionnaire. Exacerbations were calculated by examination of patient records.
Results:
No significant differences were found between the groups in functional capacity and QoL after 1 year. The exacerbations decreased in the intervention group (n = -0.2) and increased in the control group (n = 0.3) during the year after NMP. The mean difference of change in exacerbation frequency between the groups was statistically significant after one year (p=0.009).
Conclusions:
The NMP in primary care produced a significant reduction in exacerbation frequency, but functional capacity and QoL were unchanged. More and larger studies are needed to evaluate potential benefits in functional capacity and QoL.
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