Home-Based Physical Activity Program With Health Coaching for Participants With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Sweden: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Study

Home-based interventions are at the center stage of current health care demands. There is a clear need to translate pulmonary rehabilitation into a home-based setting. This 8-week pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of a home-based physical activity program for participants with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Sweden. Patients with COPD, aged 40 years or older and clinically stable in the past 3 months, were recruited. The program used a fitness tracker to monitor step count, weekly health coaching calls using motivational interviewing, and video-guided mindful movements. The outcome measures were adherence to the 8-week program’s video-guided exercises (number of times videos were watched), adherence to health coaching calls (minimum 8), monthly and daily step count, and quality of life (QoL) using the chronic respiratory questionnaire. Thirteen participants were enrolled, and 12 participants adhered to health coaching calls and step monitoring. We had 643 video-exercise views, which exceeded the minimum standard (576 views). The mean difference comparing total monthly steps from baseline and the 8-week time point was 47,039 steps (95% CI, –113,625 to 1623.5; P=.06). The minimal clinical improvement of 500 daily steps was found for 8 of the patients. No significant improvement was found in the QoL measures and mental health. We found the home-based physical activity program to be a feasible intervention. Patients reported high adherence to tracking step counts, health coaching calls, and video-guided exercise. No improvements in QoL or monthly step count emerged; however, we found high adherence and a positive trend in the number of monthly step counts, and improvements of at least 500 daily step counts improved in most patients with this small sample size.