Rehabilitation for Patients With COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), one of the leading causes of death in the US, disproportionately affects low socioeconomic communities. While few interventions effectively modify the course of COPD and improve outcomes, pulmonary rehabilitation is the one notable exception. However, implementation of this resource-intensive program in real-life settings, and in particular, for underserved communities, has proven to be challenging. Safety-net centers that serve primarily under-insured populations lack financial resources to provide pulmonary rehabilitation. COPD Wellness, a 10-week low-intensity pulmonary rehabilitation program consisting of group and home exercise, education, and social support, was developed to address this gap. This intervention is targeted at patients with moderate to severe COPD (GOLD Class B-D) who receive care through a safety-net health system. To be impactful, risk factors for low adherence include both disease severity and socio-environmental factors, must be addressed. As merely having a pulmonary rehabilitation program will not automatically lead to improved outcomes. As part of this study, an adherence strategy targeted at addressing unmet social needs to improve health will also be implemented. A Health Advocates program that links social needs screening with a tiered referral and linkage process to appropriate resources will be tested to see if adherence to COPD Wellness (exercise intervention) improves by addressing competing non-medical stressors.