Does care managers’ initial professional background affect the outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation? A retrospective cohort study of 2450 individuals with chronic respiratory diseases

Objective This retrospective study in individuals with chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) compared changes in quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and exercise capacity after a home pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programme, based on the care manager’s professional background. Methods PR team was composed of nurses (Gr1, n = 989 patients), physiotherapists (Gr2, n = 466), one dietician and one sociomedical beautician (Gr3, n = 794) and one respiratory physician (Gr4, n = 201) who supervised one home session per week during 8 weeks. Quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms, dyspnea and exercise capacity were assessed at the beginning and end of PR, and at 12 months after the end of PR. Results 2450 participants were included (females: 41.6%, age: 64.1 ± 13.0 years, FEV 1 : 50.7 ± 25.2% of predicted, people with COPD: 51%, with ILD: 23%, with asthma: 10%). Gr 1, Gr 3 and Gr 4 improved all the assessments at short- and long-term (p < 0.01). Improvement in the Visual Simplified Respiratory Questionnaire in Gr2 was not maintained at long-term. According to the linear mixed models, changes over time were not statistically different between groups. Conclusion A personalised PR programme delivered by one care manager, led to similar short-term benefits regardless of the care manager’s initial professional background.