ciTechCare was represented in the international Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), that took place in Amsterdam (Netherlands) from 27th September to 1st October, by four researchers working in the field of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), through the presentation of posters.
Joana Cruz presented the poster “Feasibility of an eHealth physical activity coaching intervention in patients with COPD undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation”, which is part of the PhD project of Sofia Flora. This study assessed the feasibility of an eHealth physical activity coaching intervention for patients with COPD undergoing Pulmonary Rehabilitation. The intervention was well-received and useful for self-management, though some noted limited personalisation and occasional step miscounts. Overall, it proved feasible and acceptable, supporting further research on its effectiveness.
During the Congress, Joana Cruz also participated as part of the faculty of the Skills Workshop on Pulmonary Rehabilitation, entitled “Physical activity assessment and intervention”, together with Fábio Pitta from University of Londrina, Brazil.
The poster “Behaviour change techniques in physical activity and sedentary behaviour interventions in COPD”, presented by Nádia Hipólito, PhD student, aimed to identify the behaviour change techniques in community interventions that tackle physical inactivity and sedentarism in people with COPD and recognised a large variability in the strategies used, while the most used where related with goal setting, self-monitoring and activity feedback. This heterogeneity is present mainly in the number of techniques per intervention, while only 1/3 of the total of techniques were identified at least once. The description of the interventions needs to be comprehensive and clear, to easily identify the strategies being used, as well as to understand which are most effective and which may still be further explored in this population.
Sara Pimenta, PhD student, presented the poster “Sedentary Patients with COPD: Differences by Physical Activity Level” as part of the OnTRACK project. The study explored differences between active and inactive sedentary people with COPD and identified predictors of physical activity. Among patients with high sedentary time, younger age, fewer symptoms, and better functional capacity were associated with being active, but only functional capacity reliably predicted activity levels.
The PhD student Maria Colucci also presented the poster “Determinants of Sedentary Behavior 30 Days After Hospitalization for COPD Exacerbation”. This longitudinal study investigated which clinical and functional factors assessed at hospital discharge explain sedentary behavior 30 days after an exacerbation. The results showed that dyspnea and light physical activity at discharge significantly contributed to sedentary time one month later, highlighting the need for early interventions to reduce sedentarism during the recovery period.
