Dyspnea, cough, and chronic mucus hypersecretion are common symptoms in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which increases risk of infections followed by exacerbations, often leading to hospitalization, disease progression and mortality. This patient group requires lifelong treatment in healthcare. A mobile application was developed to facilitate adherence to evidence-based guidelines for tailored breathing and airway clearance techniques to enhance self-management. The app is only in Norwegian and has a Norwegian name which is "Pust Deg Bedre" (PDB). The PDB app is fully developed and tested and can be downloaded for free. The app seems promising as a treatment tool, but has not yet been clinical evaluated. This project aims to 1) explore the feasibility of providing the app for patients with COPD, 2) explore the patients' with COPD experiences with the use of the PDB-app in treating dyspnea and mucus secretion, 3) explore the physiotherapists' experiences with the use of the PDB-app in treating dyspnea and mucus secretion, 4) explore the physiotherapists' experiences with implementing the PDB-app in treatment of patients with COPD, 5) explore the patients' experiences with the education in use of the PDB-app, and 6) At a 6-month follow up: explore the physiotherapists experiences with the usefulness and applicability of PBD-app, and to generally explore their experiences with participating in the project.
Clinical diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Mucus-related issues ≥3 times per week
Speak and write Norwegian
Ability to independently operate a smartphone and/or iPad
Severe mental illness
Substance abuse that hinder participation in the study
Single group
Digital health intervention by using a mobile application
DeviceA digital health intervention for promoting self-management in patients with COPD by using a mobile application.
Feasibilty study and qualitative interview studies
Other interventionThis study is a one group feasibility study including quantitative and qualitative study designs. The investigators will use focus groups and indiviual interviews, as well as Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) interviews.
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Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Lead sponsor
Helse Forde
Collaborator
