The effects of nurse‐led family pulmonary rehabilitation intervention on quality of life and exercise capacity in rural patients with COPD

AIM: To assess the effects of nurse‐led family pulmonary rehabilitation intervention on quality of life and exercise capacity in rural patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). DESIGN: A non‐randomized clinical trial. METHODS: This study enrolled COPD patients at two hospitals from January 2019 to January 2020. The primary outcome was the quality of life. The secondary outcome was exercise capacity. RESULTS: Seventy‐four rural COPD patients were enrolled, 38 in the comprehensive nursing group and 36 in the routine nursing group. After the intervention, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores in the comprehensive nursing group were significantly lower than in the routine nursing group, especially in symptoms, activities and total scores. The SGRQ scores of the comprehensive nursing group were significantly lower than baseline, while the SGRQ scores of the routine nursing group were significantly higher than baseline. After the intervention, there was a significant difference in six‐minute walking distance(6MWD) between the two groups.