Paper
Friday, 21 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Models and Strategies to Care for the Chronically Ill
The Effects of a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program on Older Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Patricia A. Chin, RN, DNSc, School of Nursing, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Learning Objective #1: describe the basic components of a pulmonary rehabilitative program for older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Learning Objective #2: describe three positive outcomes of a pulmonary rehabilitative program for older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Pulmonary rehabilitation has become an integral part of the management of older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary. Effective nursing management can have a significant impact on the quality of life and illness trajectory for older adults with COPD. Participation is a pulmonary rehabilitation program can help older adults with COPD learn to adapt to life with a chronic illness and establish realistic expectations regarding activity and daily functioning. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation provided by nurses on the pulmonary function, gas exchange, and exercise tolerance in older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A one group pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the effects of a pulmonary rehabilitation program involving breathing exercises, upper-limb exercises, and inspiratory muscle training. The sample consisted of twenty older adults patients with COPD who voluntarily participated in the pulmonary rehabilitation program. The study findings indicated improvement in exercise performance (p = .01) and a decrease in dyspnea (p = .01) after participation in the pulmonary rehabilitation program.

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