A Home Based Intervention to Promote Mindful Breathing Awareness Through Pursed Lip Breathing Training for COPD Patients

Project Summary Abstract MHS proposes the development of a system to guide patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD to complete a mindful breathing practice at home COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States and no cure exists Shortness of breath is the most common disabling symptom Pursed lips breathing is a type of breathing practice that has demonstrated effectiveness for patients with COPD It requires practice to maintain and there is currently no home system to provide the needed feedback and support to maintain PLB Additionally syncing breathing and heart rate variation offers patients additional benefits The proposed project explores the use of biofeedback to guide COPD patients in a breathing practice and to provide data for health coaching to monitor and support the practice Project Narrative COPD is a progressive lung disease that makes breathing difficult COPD usually worsens over time and eventually may make it difficult for people to carry out regular simple daily activities such as walking or taking care of oneself It is estimated that the direct costs of COPD in the United States are $ billion and the indirect costs are $ billion Breathing practice is an important part of Pulmonary Rehabilitation an established treatment for COPD We propose to develop a novel system to motivate and monitor patients with COPD to establish an effective breathing practice to improve quality of life and reduce breathlessness