Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Patient Education and Informational Materials

The Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) Patient Education and Informational Materials project is being delivered in partnership with the London Respiratory Clinical Network (LRCN). The focus is on understanding whether pulmonary rehabilitation services in London give their patients condition specific, culturally relevant and appropriately translated information, and to co-produce materials with patients to address gaps.

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an exercise-based programme designed for people living with a variety of respiratory diseases to provide tailored advice and guidance on managing their condition and symptoms, including shortness of breath. Whilst most people who go to PR have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in recent years the service has expanded to accept patients with conditions such as asthma, bronchiectasis and interstitial lung disease (ILD). It is likely that the existing COPD-specific materials will not provide sufficiently tailored information for these conditions, and that new materials may need to be developed to ensure condition-appropriate advice is available.

Language barriers are also a concern for those accessing PR. While written materials (i.e., leaflets) have been produced in a range of languages, there is a clear need for videos to be developed in different languages for people who do not read in their native language or would otherwise benefit from visual information. Cultural tailoring may also be necessary to reach certain populations and groups.

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London are working to support this work by:

• Auditing the existing patient education experience and resources available.
• Co-developing materials for non-COPD patients (i.e., asthma and interstitial lung disease) who are eligible for PR.
• Translating existing or developing new standardised PR video materials into other in-demand languages for London and make culturally relevant adjustments.