Monitoring and Peer Support to Improve Treatment Adherence and Outcomes

The O2VERLAP study focuses on a subset of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (i.e. COPD) community that are also living with a diagnosis of Sleep Apnea (i.e. SA); having a diagnosis of both COPD and SA is referred to as Overlap Syndrome (i.e. OS). There are about 300 million people living with COPD globally; of those, OSA affects 17% of adults and over 25% of older adults with rates increasing in association with the obesity epidemic. So, there are approximately 51-75 million individuals living with OS worldwide. This subset of the COPD community is met with increased morbidity and mortality rates compared to either diagnosis alone. The primary treatment for OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (i.e. CPAP, sometimes shortened to PAP). When individuals with OS are adherent to their nighttime CPAP therapies they see significantly improved outcomes, comparable to individuals living with a diagnosis of COPD alone. As a result, the primary aim of this study is to improve CPAP adherence in patients living with OS. The study investigators hope to do this through a proactive, peer-support based intervention, supplemented by an online curriculum and access to remote CPAP adherence monitoring data. Peer-coaches will include individuals who are living with COPD and OSA, who are similar to the study population. The COPD Information Line associates will act in this peer- support role through dyadic, telephone-based communication and through secure online chat. The COPD Information Line peer-coaches will be able to provide participants experience- based advice, patient-centered guidance on troubleshooting adherence barriers, as well as patient-centered advice on how to facilitate CPAP adherence. Peer coaches will also include Respiratory Therapists who will be able to provide coaching from the perspective of a caregiver. Additionally, all peer based support aims to provide emotional and social support to participants. The participants will have the ability to chat with their peer coaches online, both in real-time and asynchronously, and will additionally have weekly check ins with their coaches. The curriculum addresses many common CPAP adherence barriers and facilitators. The investigators hope that the combination of peer-support and self-learning will cultivate patient activation, self-management strategies and improve participant's health literacy. Ultimately, the investigators expect that this will improve CPAP adherence rates at 6 weeks and 12 weeks.