Acute Exacerbation of COPD and Physical Activity - Preliminary Study

Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are very sedentary and their physical activity is often interrupted by acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). Little is known about the expectations had by individuals with COPD and the effects of these expectations on their physical activity. To increase the understanding of these expectations in people with COPD, a study is proposed to explore their experience of daily fluctuations in symptoms and AECOPDs, focusing on how these experiences influence health promoting behaviors, especially physical activity (PA). This study will involve an enrollment visit during which consent will be obtained, survey data will be administered (that they may take home), spirometry testing will be conducted, and a physical activity monitor (ActivPAL device) will be applied to be worn one week to allow us to understand their usual PA. A clinical ethnographic interview will then be conducted one week following enrollment, at which point the questionnaires and ActivPAL device will be collected. A second clinical ethnographic interview will be conducted one week following the first. Survey data will again collected at week 15 by mail.