Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:  a qualitative study

Hannah Rutherford; Marita Dale; Sally  Wootton; Rashmi Pithavadian; Sarah Dennis; Sarah Brown; Jennifer A. Alison; Andrew S. L. Chan; Ian A. Yang; Zoe McKeough

doi:10.1111/hex.70181

Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study

Hannah Rutherford, Marita Dale, Sally Wootton, Rashmi Pithavadian, Sarah Dennis, Sarah Brown, Jennifer A. Alison, Andrew S. L. Chan, Ian A. Yang, Zoe McKeough

School of Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) provides innovative solutions to improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). This study aimed to explore the experiences of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who undertook either an 8-week home-based PR with a mHealth application (app) (m-PR) or centre-based PR (CB-PR). Methods: Convenience then purposive sampling was used to recruit participants enrolled in a randomised controlled trial after completion or withdrawal from either m-PR or CB-PR. Participants undertook individual, semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts were inductively coded and thematically analysed using a critical realist approach. Results: Thirteen m-PR and 12 CB-PR participants were interviewed (mean age (SD) 75 (8) years, 52% male). Four themes were conceptualised: internal motivators influence uptake and adherence, external motivators influence uptake and adherence, programme structure impacts practicality and experience, and living with and managing COPD and other health issues. Motivators for both programmes included improved fitness levels, feeling accountable to the programme and reinforcement from staff and peers. The m-PR in-app functionalities such as the daily task list were additionally motivational. m-PR participants arranged the programme around their schedule while centred-based participants arranged their schedule around the programme. Multi-morbidity and illness were barriers to adherence in both programmes. The social network, environment and resources available to participants impacted their enjoyment. Conclusion: This study adds important information for service providers considering implementation of mHealth PR models. Patient or Public Contribution: Consumers co-designed and user-tested the m-PR app. The qualitative data presented in this manuscript was obtained through interviews with consumers.

Original language	English
Article number	e70181
Pages (from-to)	e70181
Number of pages	12
Journal	Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy
Volume	28
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70181
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2025

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© 2025 The Author(s). Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Rutherford, H., Dale, M., Wootton, S., Pithavadian, R., Dennis, S., Brown, S., Alison, J. A., Chan, A. S. L., Yang, I. A., & McKeough, Z. (2025). Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study. Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, 28(2), e70181. Article e70181. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70181

Rutherford, Hannah ; Dale, Marita ; Wootton, Sally et al. / Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : a qualitative study. In: Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy. 2025 ; Vol. 28, No. 2. pp. e70181.

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title = "Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study",

abstract = "Background: Mobile health (mHealth) provides innovative solutions to improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). This study aimed to explore the experiences of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who undertook either an 8-week home-based PR with a mHealth application (app) (m-PR) or centre-based PR (CB-PR). Methods: Convenience then purposive sampling was used to recruit participants enrolled in a randomised controlled trial after completion or withdrawal from either m-PR or CB-PR. Participants undertook individual, semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts were inductively coded and thematically analysed using a critical realist approach. Results: Thirteen m-PR and 12 CB-PR participants were interviewed (mean age (SD) 75 (8) years, 52% male). Four themes were conceptualised: internal motivators influence uptake and adherence, external motivators influence uptake and adherence, programme structure impacts practicality and experience, and living with and managing COPD and other health issues. Motivators for both programmes included improved fitness levels, feeling accountable to the programme and reinforcement from staff and peers. The m-PR in-app functionalities such as the daily task list were additionally motivational. m-PR participants arranged the programme around their schedule while centred-based participants arranged their schedule around the programme. Multi-morbidity and illness were barriers to adherence in both programmes. The social network, environment and resources available to participants impacted their enjoyment. Conclusion: This study adds important information for service providers considering implementation of mHealth PR models. Patient or Public Contribution: Consumers co-designed and user-tested the m-PR app. The qualitative data presented in this manuscript was obtained through interviews with consumers.",

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Rutherford, H, Dale, M, Wootton, S, Pithavadian, R, Dennis, S, Brown, S, Alison, JA, Chan, ASL, Yang, IA & McKeough, Z 2025, 'Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study', Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, vol. 28, no. 2, e70181, pp. e70181. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70181

Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study. / Rutherford, Hannah; Dale, Marita; Wootton, Sally et al.
In: Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, Vol. 28, No. 2, e70181, 01.04.2025, p. e70181.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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T1 - Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

T2 - a qualitative study

AU - Rutherford, Hannah

AU - Dale, Marita

AU - Wootton, Sally

AU - Pithavadian, Rashmi

AU - Dennis, Sarah

AU - Brown, Sarah

AU - Alison, Jennifer A.

AU - Chan, Andrew S. L.

AU - Yang, Ian A.

AU - McKeough, Zoe

PY - 2025/4/1

Y1 - 2025/4/1

N2 - Background: Mobile health (mHealth) provides innovative solutions to improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). This study aimed to explore the experiences of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who undertook either an 8-week home-based PR with a mHealth application (app) (m-PR) or centre-based PR (CB-PR). Methods: Convenience then purposive sampling was used to recruit participants enrolled in a randomised controlled trial after completion or withdrawal from either m-PR or CB-PR. Participants undertook individual, semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts were inductively coded and thematically analysed using a critical realist approach. Results: Thirteen m-PR and 12 CB-PR participants were interviewed (mean age (SD) 75 (8) years, 52% male). Four themes were conceptualised: internal motivators influence uptake and adherence, external motivators influence uptake and adherence, programme structure impacts practicality and experience, and living with and managing COPD and other health issues. Motivators for both programmes included improved fitness levels, feeling accountable to the programme and reinforcement from staff and peers. The m-PR in-app functionalities such as the daily task list were additionally motivational. m-PR participants arranged the programme around their schedule while centred-based participants arranged their schedule around the programme. Multi-morbidity and illness were barriers to adherence in both programmes. The social network, environment and resources available to participants impacted their enjoyment. Conclusion: This study adds important information for service providers considering implementation of mHealth PR models. Patient or Public Contribution: Consumers co-designed and user-tested the m-PR app. The qualitative data presented in this manuscript was obtained through interviews with consumers.

AB - Background: Mobile health (mHealth) provides innovative solutions to improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). This study aimed to explore the experiences of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who undertook either an 8-week home-based PR with a mHealth application (app) (m-PR) or centre-based PR (CB-PR). Methods: Convenience then purposive sampling was used to recruit participants enrolled in a randomised controlled trial after completion or withdrawal from either m-PR or CB-PR. Participants undertook individual, semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts were inductively coded and thematically analysed using a critical realist approach. Results: Thirteen m-PR and 12 CB-PR participants were interviewed (mean age (SD) 75 (8) years, 52% male). Four themes were conceptualised: internal motivators influence uptake and adherence, external motivators influence uptake and adherence, programme structure impacts practicality and experience, and living with and managing COPD and other health issues. Motivators for both programmes included improved fitness levels, feeling accountable to the programme and reinforcement from staff and peers. The m-PR in-app functionalities such as the daily task list were additionally motivational. m-PR participants arranged the programme around their schedule while centred-based participants arranged their schedule around the programme. Multi-morbidity and illness were barriers to adherence in both programmes. The social network, environment and resources available to participants impacted their enjoyment. Conclusion: This study adds important information for service providers considering implementation of mHealth PR models. Patient or Public Contribution: Consumers co-designed and user-tested the m-PR app. The qualitative data presented in this manuscript was obtained through interviews with consumers.

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DO - 10.1111/hex.70181

M3 - Article

SN - 1369-6513

VL - 28

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JO - Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy

JF - Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy

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ER -

Rutherford H, Dale M, Wootton S, Pithavadian R, Dennis S, Brown S et al. Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study. Health Expectations: an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy. 2025 Apr 1;28(2):e70181. e70181. doi: 10.1111/hex.70181

Experiences of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation with mHealth and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study

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