OAIC Completed Study
Rehabilitation Exercise and COPD Trial (REACT II)
Contact: | Phone: |
Michael J. Berry, Ph.D. | 336-758-5847 |
Stephen P. Messier, PhD | 336-758-5849 |
REACT II - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States with the primary symptoms of the disease being dyspnea or shortness of breath and exercise intolerance. These two symptoms lead to decreases in physical activity which in turn results in decreases in physical function, health related quality of life and exercise capacity, and an increase in self-reported disability. Evidence shows that exercise therapy results in improvements in physical function, health related quality of life and exercise capacity and decreases in self-reported disability. Additionally, these data indicate that once exercise therapy is stopped these improvements are lost. Collectively, these data support the benefit and need of promoting long-term adherence to physically active lifestyles in COPD patients. Unfortunately, compliance rates with exercise programs are dismally low, even in asymptomatic populations. Therefore, the primary goal of this investigation is to determine if COPD patients randomly assigned to a lifestyle activity program will have higher weekly volumes of physical activity at 18 months as compared to patients randomly assigned to a traditional exercise therapy program. The lifestyle intervention program phases out center-based activity over an initial 3-month period, while using both group and individual behavior change procedures that encourage patients to learn how to self-regulate the level of physical activity in their daily lives. It is our hypothesis that this lifestyle intervention program will result in higher levels of physical activity at the end of 18 months as compared to a traditional three-month exercise therapy program. Secondary aims of the investigation are to determine the impact of these two interventions on physical function, self-reported disability, health related quality of life, and exercise capacity.
Over 140 out of 200 people have been randomized to date with recruitment projected to end August 2005.
