Factors Associated With Acceptance of Home-Based Pulmonary Telerehabilitation in COPD

Pulmonary rehabilitation improves symptoms, exercise capacity, and quality of life in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but access and participation may be limited by travel, organizational, logistical, and personal barriers. Home-based pulmonary telerehabilitation may reduce some of these barriers, although not all eligible individuals accept this mode of care. Identifying the characteristics associated with acceptance or refusal of this model is therefore essential to better define the population most likely to benefit from this approach, tailor the program's delivery and content, and identify potential remaining barriers in order to improve access to care.

This retrospective study will use existing data from adults with COPD who were screened at ADIR Association between May 2024 and April 2025 for an 8-week home-based pulmonary telerehabilitation feasibility study. Of 50 potentially eligible individuals, 21 accepted participation and 29 declined. Demographic, clinical, functional, psychological, and geographic characteristics will be compared between individuals who accepted and those who declined participation. Documented reasons for refusal will be described, and factors associated with refusal will be explored using logistic regression.