Attitudes and uptake of pulmonary rehabilitation: Influence of gender

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a core component of the therapeutic management of people chronic respiratory disease. A program of exercise and education, pulmonary rehabilitation effectively improves symptoms and function and reduces healthcare utilisation. Despite its well established effects very few people who would benefit from pulmonary rehabilitation have ever undertaken a program. There are well understood barriers to attending pulmonary rehabilitation, however whether there are barriers to pulmonary rehabilitation specific to gender has not been previously explored. This work will make use of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to describe the influence of gender on attitudes toward and uptake of pulmonary rehabilitation. It will engage with consumers to develop and test targeted interventions to support the uptake and attendance of pulmonary rehabilitation by specific groups.