Assessment of COPD wellness tools for use in primary care: an IPCRG initiative

Abstract

Andrew J Cave,1 Lana Atkinson,1 Ioanna G Tsiligianni,2,3 Alan G Kaplan41Department of Family Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; 2Department of General Practice, University Medical Centre of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands; 3Agia Barbara Health Care Centre, Heraklion, Greece; 4Family Physician Airways Group of Canada, North York, CanadaAbstract: COPD is considered a complex disease and global problem that is predicted to be the third most common cause of death by 2030. While managing this chronic condition, primary health care practitioners are faced with the ongoing challenge of achieving good quality of life and overall "wellness" for those affected. As such, a practical tool for monitoring quality of life in a clinical setting is required. However, due to the wide variety of general and disease-specific tools from which to choose, primary health care practitioners are given minimal guidance as to which tool may be most appropriate. To address these challenges, the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) proposed the creation of a user's guide for primary health care practitioners to assess "wellness" in COPD patients in an everyday clinical setting. This short report outlines the process by which the IPCRG Users' Guide to COPD "Wellness" Tools was developed. It also describes why this guide has the potential to be of great value in guiding primary health care practitioners to improve patient wellness.Keywords: wellness, quality of life, primary care, instrument