Validation of an Exercise DVD for Maintenance After Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that over 3.5 million Canadians live with chronic respiratory diseases, such as COPD (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), asthma, sleep apnea, and lung cancer. Nova Scotia has been reported to have one of the highest rates of chronic lung disease among Canadian provinces, likely a reflection of both the age of the population and high rates of exposures to occupational dusts and smoking. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary intervention, involving exercise and education for patients with chronic lung disease. Pulmonary rehabilitation has been demonstrated to improve patient symptoms, exercise capacity, and quality of life while reducing health resource utilization. Many studies have shown that the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation tend to diminish over time after program completion. The best interventions to maintain the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation remain unclear.

The purpose of this study is to validate incorporation of an exercise DVD into a maintenance program after pulmonary rehabilitation. 100 subjects will be recruited over 2-years from pulmonary rehabilitation programs at Capital Health, with 50 individuals randomized to usual care following PR and 50 individuals randomized to usual care plus the exercise DVD. Study subjects will be evaluated at time of enrolment in pulmonary rehabilitation, at completion of pulmonary rehabilitation and 6-months post- pulmonary rehabilitation. Study outcome measures will include exercise capacity, exercise compliance, health-related quality of life, confidence with performing exercise, and satisfaction with the exercise DVD. The primary outcome measure will be a change in functional exercise capacity as determined by the distance walked in 6-minutes, a commonly used and validated assessment tool for patients with chronic lung disease.