Comparing the effects of smartphone-based and face-to-face pulmonary rehabilitation education on caregiver burden and quality of life among the family caregivers of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized controlled field trial

BACKGROUND: Functional limitation among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and their dependence on their family caregivers (FCs) can significantly increase caregiver burden (CB) and reduce the quality of life (QOL) among FCs. Education of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) to FCs is a strategy with potential positive effects on CB. This study was conducted to compare the effects of smartphone-based and face-to-face (FTF) PR education on CB and QOL among the FCs of patients with COPD. METHODS: This randomized controlled field trial was conducted in 2021–2022. Participants were purposefully selected from the PR unit of Khorshid comprehensive respiratory care clinic in Isfahan, Iran, and randomly allocated to a control and an intervention group. Participants in the control group received PR education in twelve 30–60-min FTF sessions held twice weekly in six consecutive weeks. Their counterparts in the intervention group received PR education for 6 weeks through an android application. The Zarit Burden Interview and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) were used for data collection before and immediately after the study intervention. The SPSS software (v. 24.0) was used to analyze the data through the independent-sample t, paired-sample t, chi-square, and Fisher’s exact tests. RESULTS: The means of participants’ age was 47.7 ± 13.8 years in the control group and 44.1 ± 14.8 years in the intervention group. Most participants in these groups were female (82.9% vs. 71.4%). The pretest mean scores of CB and QOL were respectively 50.77 ± 10.64 and 27.82 ± 3.9 in the control group and 49.77 ± 7.65 and 26.71 ± 3.5 in the intervention group with no significant between-group difference (P > 0.05). At the posttest, these values were respectively 51.57 ± 7.32 and 27.74 ± 3.28 in the control group and 37.31 ± 6.95 and 34.37 ± 2.8 in the intervention group, and between-group differences were significant (P < 0.05). The mean scores of CB and QOL did not significantly change in the control group (P > 0.05), but respectively decreased and increased significantly in the intervention group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Smartphone-based PR education is effective in significantly decreasing CB and improving QOL among the FCs of patients with COPD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20161203031200N3