The Effectiveness of Tele-pulmonary Rehabilitation Program on People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) After Hospitalization for Acute Exacerbation

NCT07762157 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: 2025.524
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Introduction: There are great impacts of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) over healthcare and economic systems globally. Managing COPD stably in community is still a challenging topic due to its progressive nature, it is valuable to be studied with a view to improving the health status and quality of life in people with COPD and thus relieving the healthcare and economic burdens. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) was proven to be cost-effective with clinical benefits in optimizing quality of life, physical conditions and reducing hospital re-admissions rate in people with COPD. Traditionally, PR training was conducted under professional supervision in a face-to-face format. Community-based PR, like tele-rehabilitation, centre-based and homebased rehabilitation are emerging as an effective alternative to traditional PR. Promoting community-based rehabilitation is possibly one of the ways to engage people with chronic diseases in selfmanagement at their doorstep, which will help to tackle the escalating aging population and their heavy burden to the public healthcare system in Hong Kong. Objectives: The objectives of this study are:

• To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the newly developed tele-pulmonary rehabilitation program on people with COPD after hospitalized acute exacerbation,
• To explore participants' experience towards the program and develop a deeper understanding about the enablers and barriers faced by participants in joining the - tele-pulmonary rehabilitation program for quality assessment and improvement Methodology: Quasi-experimental design will be adopted in quantitative study, participants will join an eight-session tele-PR program in the intervention group, and participants will join the control group when pending for traditional out-patient based PR program. Purposive sampling will be adopted, participants should be clinically diagnosed COPD, able to participate in scheduled PR program and able to listen, speak, read and understand Chinese. Four domains of outcome measures will be collected, including participant profile, physical health status, health-related quality of life and healthcare resources utilization, for evaluation. Qualitative study with phenomenological approach will be adopted to discover participants' experience in the service. Semistructured, individual face-to-face in-depth interviews will be conducted once participants complete the tele-pulmonary rehabilitation program. Significance: This study will provide solid evidence on the effectiveness of tele-pulmonary rehabilitation program for people with COPD after hospitalized for acute exacerbation.

Conditions

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT)

  The Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) uses a standard 30-meter indoor hallway protocol (measurement tool) to evaluate functional exercise capacity. The unit of measure is the total distance walked in meters. Scores range from a theoretical minimum of 0 meters to an unlimited maximum based on functional ability; higher values represent a better outcome (greater exercise tolerance).

  Baseline measure within 3 days the participants are discharged from in-patient care; AND post-intervention measure at 8-week after baseline measure

• Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (Hong Kong Chinese version) (SGRQ-HK)

  The Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (Hong Kong Chinese version) (SGRQ-HK) is a disease-specific questionnaire (measurement tool) used to assess health-related quality of life. The unit of measure is the SGRQ total score (expressed as a points from 0 to 100). Scores range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100; higher values mean a worse outcome (greater health impairment and lower quality of life).

  Baseline measure within 3 days the participants are discharged from in-patient care; AND post-intervention measure at 8-week after baseline measure

• Unplanned hospital re-admission rate

  The Unplanned Hospital Re-admission Rate uses electronic medical record audit logs to evaluate health resource utilization. It is a binary variable that 'Yes' or 'No' are the only options. Unplanned is referring to any unscheduled admissions via Emergency Department, the time frame was within 28 days and within 3 months of the last hospital discharge, the date of the latest hospital discharge is defined as day 0.

  Measure twice at 28-day and 3-month post-hospital discharge, independent to the intervention time-frame

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale

  Baseline measure within 3 days the participants are discharged from in-patient care; AND post-intervention measure at 8-week after baseline measure

• Dyspnoea-12 (Chinese version) (D-12-C)

  Baseline measure within 3 days the participants are discharged from in-patient care; AND post-intervention measure at 8-week after baseline measure

• Five-Time-Sit-To-Stand test (FTSTS)

  Baseline measure within 3 days the participants are discharged from in-patient care; AND post-intervention measure at 8-week after baseline measure

• Handgrip strength

  Baseline measure within 3 days the participants are discharged from in-patient care; AND post-intervention measure at 8-week after baseline measure

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Tele-pulmonary rehabilitation

Behavioral: Tele-pulmonary rehabilitation

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Usual care

Interventions

Tele-pulmonary rehabilitation BEHAVIORAL

All exercises content will follow classic pulmonary rehabilitation, but will be conducted in tele-health format

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Clinically diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (therefore, with or without confirmation by previous spirometry), no limitation on GOLD stage for participants with previous spirometry; AND
• Aged 18 or above, without limitation on sex, smoking history and medications using; AND
• Able to participate in the scheduled pulmonary rehabilitation program; AND
• Owning private electronic devices and Internet connection at

You may not qualify if:

• With unstable medical conditions; OR
• With major musculo-skeletal, neurological, psychiatric or cognitive disorders; OR
• Refusal on clinical study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• North District Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

North District Hospital

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Chronic Disease; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Kim Chung Mo

CONTACT

852 26837822; Dennis.Mo@link.cuhk.edu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Advanced Practice Physiotherapist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 3, 2026
• First Posted: August 13, 2026
• Study Start: December 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 31, 2027
• Last Updated: August 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Locations

HK (1)