Managing the experience of breathlessness with Tai Chi: A qualitative analysis from a randomized controlled trial in COPD


Author: Elizabeth A Gilliam1, Karen L Kilgore2, Yuchen Liu3, Lauren Bernier3, Shana Criscitiello3, Daniel Litrownik4, Peter M Wayne5, Marilyn L Moy6, Gloria Y Yeh4

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brookline, MA, USA. Electronic address: egilliam@bidmc.harvard.edu.

<sup>2</sup> School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.

<sup>3</sup> Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brookline, MA, USA.

<sup>4</sup> Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brookline, MA, USA; Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

<sup>5</sup> Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

<sup>6</sup> Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Conference/Journal: Respir Med
Date published: 2021 May 15
Other:
 Volume ID: 184   ,  Pages: 106463   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2021.106463.   ,  Word Count: 272  
    Purpose:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with dyspnea, decreased physical activity, and reduced quality-of-life. While pulmonary rehabilitation is helpful, maintenance of physical activity afterwards is problematic. We sought to explore qualitatively the multi-dimensional, biopsychosocial experience of patients with COPD who participated in Tai Chi (TC) vs. group walking to facilitate physical activity after pulmonary rehabilitation).



Methods:

We analyzed semi-structured qualitative exit interviews (N = 81) from a randomized controlled trial comparing 6-months TC with a time-matched group walking intervention and usual care control (UC). Transcripts were reviewed by at least 2 independent reviewers utilizing a social constructivist framework and theoretical sampling approach. An in-depth analysis of an exemplar subset was performed to thematic saturation and captured emergent themes within and between groups.



Results:

Focused analysis was conducted on 54 transcripts (N = 21 TC, N = 16 Walking, N = 17 UC). Participants were characterized by mean age 68.5 (±8.3) years, GOLD Stage = 3.0 (IQR 2.0-3.0), baseline FEV1 percent predicted 48.8% (±16.4), and 48.2% female. We identified predominant themes of breathlessness, and associated fear and embarrassment that limited physical activity across all groups. In both TC and walking, participants reported improvements in energy and endurance. Those in TC additionally shared improvements in breathing, mobility, and capacity for daily activities facilitated by body and breath awareness, emotional control and regulation of breathing, and an adaptive reframing of breathlessness.



Conclusion:

TC promoted physical and mental wellbeing by diminishing fear and embarrassment associated with breathlessness. Results highlight the multimodal characteristics of TC that may facilitate continued physical activity and improvement in quality of life.



Keywords: Breathlessness; COPD; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Disease management; Integrative; Mind-body; Patient experience; Tai Chi.



PMID: 34023739 DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2021.106463

PMCID: PMC8210537 (available on 2022-08-01)