International Journal of COPD (Jan 2024)

Physicians’ Knowledge of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

  • Pan F,
  • Lu AT,
  • Mao X,
  • Hu F,
  • Zhang H,
  • Han B

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 19
pp. 121 – 131

Abstract

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Feng Pan,1,* Ai-ting Lu,1,2,* Xiaowei Mao,1,* Fang Hu,1 Hai Zhang,1 Baohui Han1 1Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Regional Medical Center for National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Baohui Han, Email [email protected]: To investigate the knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) among physicians involved in pulmonary disease management.Methods: This multi-regional cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 12, 2019 to January 22, 2020. The participants were enrolled and an electronic questionnaire was exclusively sent to the members of the Lung Cancer Special Committee of the China Medicine Education Association through the WeChat platform. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the associated factors of high PR knowledge scores (≥ 18 points).Results: From the 858 valid questionnaires, the routine implementation of PR was only reported for 16.95% of physicians. The main reason hindering the implementation of PR for patients was the limited knowledge and awareness of PR among the physicians involved (69.1%). A total of 618 and 240 physicians had high and low knowledge scores, respectively. Multivariable analysis suggests that the self-perception of PR knowledge (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.32– 2.771, P = 0.001) was independently associated with high knowledge scores, while having no theoretical knowledge of PR was associated with poor knowledge scores (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.26– 0.72, P = 0.001).Conclusion: Inadequate knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation is evident among physicians who are involved in pulmonary disease management in China. This underscores the need for more comprehensive and standardized training to bolster their awareness and effective utilization of pulmonary rehabilitation.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary rehabilitation, lung cancer, knowledge, oncologists

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