Disease-specific education in the primary care setting increases the knowledge of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effect of brief disease-specific education delivered in primary care on objective measures of knowledge in individuals recently diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).


METHODS
A randomized control trial was undertaken during which an experimental group received 2h of education delivered by a certified COPD educator and a control group received usual care. The Bristol COPD Knowledge Questionnaire (BCKQ) was self-administered at the time of randomization and approximately three months later.


RESULTS
Of the 93 individuals that completed the study, 50 (forced expiratory volume in 1s [FEV(1)]=60.0+/-14.3% predicted; 22 males) and 43 (FEV(1)=58.2+/-14.4% predicted; 20 males) participants were randomized to the experimental and control groups, respectively. The BCKQ increased from 27.6+/-8.7 to 36.5+/-7.7 points (p<0.001) in the experimental group, which was greater than any seen in the control group (between-group difference 8.3, 95% confidence interval 5.5-11.2 points).


CONCLUSIONS
As little as 2h of education delivered in primary care was effective at increasing objective measures of disease-specific knowledge.


CONCLUSIONS
A program of brief education delivered in the primary care setting, represents an important approach for many individuals with COPD who are unlikely to access pulmonary rehabilitation.
Respiratory Medicine, West Park Healthcare Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kylie
K
Hill
Suzanna
S
Mangovski-Alzamora
Maria
M
Blouin
Gordon
G
Guyatt
Diane
D
Heels-Ansdell
Pauline
P
Bragaglia
Itamar
I
Tamari
Karen
K
Jones
Roger
R
Goldstein
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011320:Primary Health Care; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000628:therapy*