Physiotherapists might be able to circumvent worsening of existing overuse injuries in this population with advice and preventive interventions. Dr Leo Costa is supported by FAPESP, Brazil. Ethics: This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Universidade Cidade de São Paulo, Brazil. “
“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by shortness of breath on exertion, marked see more disability and frequent hospitalisation. Health system costs are estimated at $800–900 million per annum in Australia, the majority of which is attributable to hospital use (Australian Lung Foundation 2008). There is Level 1 evidence that pulmonary rehabilitation improves exercise capacity,

reduces breathlessness, and improves quality of life in people with COPD, regardless of disease severity (Lacasse et al 2006). Pulmonary rehabilitation also reduces acute exacerbations and hospital

admissions (Guell et al 2000). Despite the known benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation, many people with COPD who are eligible for the program choose not to participate. Existing data suggest that between 8% and 50% of those who are referred to a program never attend, whilst 10–32% of those who commence a program do not complete (Keating et al 2011). The barriers to participation in pulmonary rehabilitation are not well documented. Travel requirements, CP868596 illness, disruption to routines, low perception of benefit, and depression may be important factors (Keating et al 2011). However, most studies are small (Arnold et al 2006, Fischer et al 2007), have examined non-completion of programs that are conducted in the context of clinical trials

(Fan et al 2008, OShea et al 2007, Taylor et al 2007), or have not differentiated those who chose not to attend at all from those who do not complete (Fischer et al 2009). There MTMR9 is a paucity of data regarding patients who are referred but never attend. More information regarding barriers to both uptake and completion is required in order to enhance participation in this important and effective intervention. The research questions addressed in this study were: 1. What are the barriers to uptake of pulmonary rehabilitation for people with COPD? A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was undertaken based on the principles of grounded theory (Boeije 2002, Strauss and Corbin 2007). Participants were interviewed within one month of declining to participate in or withdrawing from a pulmonary rehabilitation program. Individuals in this study were patients who had been referred to a pulmonary rehabilitation program and either did not attend their initial appointment or failed to complete the program. Failure to complete was defined as ceasing to attend scheduled sessions prior to the end of the program and failure to undertake the final assessment.