Community-based Pulmonary Rehabilitation (COPD Wellness) and Social Navigation (Health Advocates) to Improve Outcomes in Vulnerable 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. The 10-week COPD Wellness and Plus+ Program directly addresses this gap, and yet, programs like these do not automatically lead to improved outcomes, which leads to the implementation of a Health Advocates program to address participant's social needs and barriers to healthcare.
• Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
• Willingness to participate in the COPD Wellness program
• 40 to 90 years old
• English or Spanish speaking
• Physician-diagnosed COPD
• Spirometry-confirmed FEV1/FVC ratio \<= 0.7 and FEV1% predicted \<80% based on GLI-O prediction equation
• COPD Assessment Test ≥ 10 or history of 1+ exacerbation requiring hospitalization or 2+ outpatient exacerbations requiring steroid therapy
• Currently prescribed COPD medication(s)
• Ability to exercise with lower extremities
• No COPD exacerbations for ≥ 6 weeks
• Currently receiving care within SFHN
⁃ Note: Forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1); Forced vital capacity (FVC)