Partnership Launches COPD Campaign Aimed at Patients, Primary Care Physicians

More than 12 million people in the United States have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, according to NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. It is estimated that an additional 12 million individuals have COPD but have not been diagnosed with the disease. As part of their role on the front lines of health care, it is vital for family physicians to be aware of the prevalence of COPD and to recognize its symptoms.

That's why the AAFP is partnering with the NHLBI and a variety of other organizations to introduce the COPD Learn More Breathe Better campaign, which, in addition to raising physicians' vigilance for the condition, also is designed to improve COPD awareness among patients at the greatest risk for the disease.

"As health care providers, we need to do our part to ensure that if (patients) have COPD, we diagnose it early," said Academy President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., in an NHLBI news release about the campaign. "Family physicians play an important role in COPD awareness and diagnosis. We currently are the usual source of care for more than 60 percent of Americans with COPD."

Raising COPD's profile among health care professionals is a top priority for the NHLBI, said Elizabeth Nabel, M.D., director of the institute, at a press conference held here Jan. 18 to introduce the new program. "We must increase awareness and increase recognition so those at greatest risk (for COPD) can be diagnosed."

Often referred to as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and the number of new cases is on the rise, according to the NHLBI. But family physicians can serve as the first line of defense in the battle against the disease, said AAFP Board Director Robert Pallay, M.D., of Hillsborough, N.J., who represented the AAFP during the press conference.

According to Pallay, FPs got a sneak peek at the Learn More Breathe Better campaign during the 2006 AAFP Scientific Assembly in October, when it was announced that the campaign would be part of the Academy's 2007 Annual Clinical Focus: Management of Chronic Illness.

"This is one of the least-recognized chronic diseases," Pallay said in an interview after the January press conference. He emphasized the importance of providing care to COPD patients in a medical home setting so physicians have the opportunity to recognize developing symptoms in their patients. Having the right equipment -- in this case, spirometry equipment -- in FPs' offices is critical to finding patients with COPD, he added. "It is an inexpensive test that is paid for (by insurance), and it is very helpful."

Spirometry, which measures the amount of air a patient exhales and how fast he or she can exhale, is, indeed, an important tool in diagnosing COPD, according to A. Sonia Buist, M.D., professor of medicine, physiology and pharmacology, and public health and preventive medicine at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland. During the press conference, she noted that symptoms of COPD often are misinterpreted as being part of the normal aging process or as occurring because of poor overall condition. "Measuring COPD prevalence requires spirometry -- a simple breathing test," said Buist, particularly because COPD can occur in nonsmokers, as well as in smokers and ex-smokers.

The campaign targets three audiences, said Amy Pianalto, project director at NHLBI's Center for the Application of Research Discoveries, at the press conference. Those audiences are at-risk men and women, patients diagnosed with COPD, and health care professionals, with an emphasis on primary care health professionals.

The campaign will brand the term COPD and highlight diagnosis and treatment. By identifying and raising awareness of the symptoms of the disease, the campaign partners hope that patients will recognize those symptoms in themselves and seek help. The campaign also will provide a mobile lung screening unit that will tour health fairs, senior expos and other community venues around the country in 2007 to provide spirometry testing.

Public service announcements for both print and radio are another component of the campaign, as are fact sheets for patients, a fact card for health care professionals, an educational video and materials to help community organizations educate the public about COPD. All of these resources are available online.

The NHLBI also has awarded $41 million in grants for three centers for clinically oriented COPD research. The centers will conduct research during the next five years to better understand the molecular, cellular and genetic determinants of COPD so better methods of diagnosing and treating the disease can be developed.