Research project People with COPD is often affected by exacerbations in their disease. These are associated with a substantial increase in symptoms (i.e. dyspnea), decrease in lung function, decreased level of physical activity and increased risk for hospitalizations and death.
An important part of the treatment in COPD is to try to prevent exacerbations. It can, however, be hard to detect the beginning of an exacerbation and patients can wait too long before they take action with a hospitalization as consequence. To find early signs of deterioration we follow COPD patients who measure lung function, oxygen saturation and symptoms at home via a web-based system – KOL-kollen. In a qualitative interview study we also evaluate their experience in having a web-based system at home, monitoring their health status.
