Measurement tools to assess education and psychosocial support of pulmonary rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Education and psychosocial support is a core component of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). Nevertheless, measurement tools used to assess the effects of this component of PR have been scarcely investigated. Thus, this systematic literature review aimed to identify which measurement tools have been used to assess education and psychosocial support of PR in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD.) Methods: A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science in February 2021. Articles were screened and inclusion decided by two independent researchers. Randomised control studies, quasi-experimental and pre-post studies, which included people with COPD enrolled in a PR programme, with exercise and education and psychosocial support, were included. The same two independent researchers extracted the data to a standardised table. Results: A total of 7112 studies were screened and 9 studies were included. 1121 people with COPD (68.69 ± 8.98 years old, 30.78% female, FEV1pp 53.25 ± 19.04%) were enrolled in the included studies. A total of 9 measurement tools were identified and the most reported was the Bristol COPD Knowledge Questionnaire (BCKQ) (n = 3, 33.3%). Other measurement tools were found, such as the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) (n = 1, 11.1%), the Education Specific Questionnaire (ESQ) (n = 1, 11.1%), the Lung Information Needs Questionnaire (LINQ) (n = 1, 11.1%), the COPD Knowledge Test (n = 1, 11.1%), the Pulmonary Disease Knowledge Test (PDKT) (n = 1, 11.1%), the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ) (n = 1, 11.1%), the Understanding COPD Questionnaire (UCOPD) (n = 1, 11.1%) and the Knowledge Assessment Questionnaire (n = 1, 11.1%). Conclusions: This review has shown that there are nine measurement tools available to assess the effects of education and psychosocial support of PR in people with COPD. The most reported has been the BCKQ however, few studies assessing this component in PR programmes have been conducted. Given the importance of education and psychosocial support of PR for people with COPD, future research is urgently needed to provide recommendations on the most suitable measurement tools and promote its routine assessment.