Perceptions of behaviour change interventions for physical activity in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a survey

Background

Physical inactivity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is common and behaviour change interventions could help improve physical activity (PA) (1-3). This survey aimed to explore perceptions of behaviour change interventions for physical activity in people with COPD.

Methods

An anonymous cross-sectional electronic and paper survey was distributed among people with COPD in the Republic of Ireland (n=150) via relevant gatekeepers. Descriptive statistics, means, medians, percentages and frequencies, were used to summarise and describe the findings. Chi- squared t-tests (where P was set at 0.05) were used to investigate relationships between variables.

Results

Responses were received from n=113 people with COPD (75.33% response rate, 113/150) and most respondents (83.03%, n= 93/112) were aged over 61 years. 90.53% (n=86/95) of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that PA helps them to manage their COPD. There was a strong statistically significant relationship between those who wear PA monitoring devices and those who believe that being physically active can help them to manage their lung disease (p<0.001), however, in this survey, the use of PA monitors in those over 61 years was proportionally lower (21.11%, n=19/90) than those under 60 years (61.53%, n= 8/13). Respondents perceived social support as the most effective behaviour change intervention to influence PA behaviour (67.62%, n= 71/105), with counselling for PA perceived to be the least effective (13.33%, n=14/105).

Conclusion

People with COPD perceived that social support can influence their PA behaviour. The spontaneous use of PA monitoring devices was lower in older respondents than in younger respondents, however a strong relationship between using monitoring devices and perceived benefits of PA on COPD may exist overall.