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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
User personas for exercise rehabilitation behaviors in older patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary
Han Su1, Luxin Wang1, Ying Chen1
1School of Nursing and Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
Background:
Effective exercise rehabilitation is critical for managing older stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, but the heterogeneity in their exercise rehabilitation behaviors is largely unexplored. This study aimed to characterize distinct patterns of exercise rehabilitation behavior and create user personas to guide tailored interventions.
Methods:
Using purposive sampling, 18 patients with stable COPD were recruited from a community health center in Zhengzhou, China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between July and September 2025. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Persona labels were manually extracted and synthesized to construct user personas, which were then visualized using word clouds and descriptive tables.
Results:
The persona label system for exercise rehabilitation behaviors was categorized into six dimensions: perceptions of exercise rehabilitation, current exercise status, social support, psychological status, exercise rehabilitation needs, and accessibility of healthcare resources. Based on this system, four distinct types of user personas were constructed: "Proactive Self-Managed Exercisers", "Routine Independent Exercisers", "Routine Independent Exercisers", and "Fear-Avoidant Resource-Limited Exercisers".
Conclusions:
This study reveals significant heterogeneity in exercise rehabilitation behaviors among older patients with stable COPD. The constructed patient personas enable healthcare professionals to identify the unique needs of each individual and implement precisely tailored strategies to achieve sustained exercise rehabilitation.
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