A qualitative exploration of people living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis experience of a virtual pulmonary rehabilitation programme

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recommended in the treatment of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Little is known about the experiences of people with IPF of PR. Due to Covid-19 there has been a rapid shift of PR services to remote/virtual delivery. OBJECTIVE: To explore people living with IPFs experience of a virtual PR (VPR) programme. METHODS: All patients with a diagnosis of IPF in a stable phase of the disease were invited to participate in virtual PR: a 10 week exercise programme delivered twice-weekly for one hour. One-to-one semi- structured interviews were conducted within one week following the programme. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clarke thematic analysis by two independent assessors. RESULTS: N=13 participants took part in the semi-structured interviews, mean (standard deviation (SD)) age 69.5(10.4) years; 7M:6F. Mean (SD) FEV(1) 2.6(0.3)L, FVC 2.9(0.4)L. Four key themes were identified: 1) The impact of VPR on health and outlook, (2) The reality of VPR, (3) Being active after VPR and (4) Living with IPF during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Participants reported high levels of enjoyment and engagement with the programme regardless of the health benefits experienced. Most participants expressed a desire for a longer programme. Participants expressed different levels of maintenance with exercise since finishing the programme, specific motivators and strategies for maintenance included lung transplant, the maintenance of benefits from the programme and social support. COVID-19 and the restrictions imposed had some negative impacts on some participants lives, engaging with PR helped overcome some of these. CONCLUSION: Despite the progressive nature of IPF, all participants expressed high levels of enjoyment with the programme. Future research should explore strategies for maintenance post PR and the optimum duration of PR for people with IPF. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12890-022-02221-6.