Dyspnea Self-Management: Internet or Face-to-Face

Summary

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is the fourth most common cause of death and the second leading cause of disability in the United States. COPD is estimated to be responsible for more than 13.4 million physician visits and 13% of hospitalizations nationally. These hospitalizations are usually caused by acute exacerbations characterized by an increase in symptoms including dyspnea or shortness of breath (SOB), cough, wheezing, and sputum production. The significant disability for people with COPD is primarily due to the symptom of dyspnea (shortness of breath) that affects an individual's quality of life more than does the physiological impairment. Despite optimal medical and pharmacological therapy, most people with COPD continue to suffer from chronic and progressive dyspnea and other symptoms of cough and fatigue.

We have previously shown that an individualized face-to-face dyspnea self-management program was effective in improving dyspnea with activities of daily living (ADL), physical functioning, and self-efficacy for managing dyspnea. Using an experimental longitudinal design, the i-DSMP will be compared to the Face-to-Face Dyspnea Self-Management Program (f-DSMP) and to an Attention Control (AC) intervention

Conditions

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Internet DSMP

Internet Dyspnea Self-management Program (i-DSMP): Education and skills training for dyspnea management; an individualized tailored exercise plan; self-monitoring of exacerbation symptoms and exercise; and reinforcement/personalized feedback for self management. I-DSMP participants will receive their accessing the modules through the website and participating in weekly online group chat sessions with the research nurse and other participants.

BEHAVIORAL

Face-to-Face Dyspnea Self-management

Face-to-Face Dyspnea Self-management Program (f-DSMP): Education and skills training for dyspnea management; an individualized tailored exercise plan; self-monitoring of exacerbation symptoms and exercise; and reinforcement/personalized feedback for self management. F-DMSP participants will attend face-to-face group education sessions. The f-DSMP participants will be provide with a hard copy of the education modules and will participate in six 1-hour group sessions for a period of 6 weeks.

BEHAVIORAL

Attention Control

6 Monthly general health education classes and biweekly telephone calls from a health educator.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

  collaborator NIH

• University of California, San Francisco

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Virginia Carrieri-Kohlman, RN, DNSc · University of California, San Francisco

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

40 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2007-01-31

Primary Completion

2011-08-31

Completion

2011-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations