The value of promoting “Internet Plus” home-based pulmonary rehabilitation for university staff with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Year: 2026
Type: review
Abstract: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a non-pharmacological intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). "Internet-Plus" technologies create opportunities for home-delivered PR to overcome barriers of center-based rehabilitation, yet real-world implementation evidence among university staff with COPD remains scarce. This mini review synthesizes six major "Internet-Plus" home-based PR modalities: short message service (SMS)/telephone follow-up, social media platforms, video conferencing telerehabilitation, wearable devices and Internet of things (IoT) systems, smartphone applications and virtual-reality-integrated rehabilitation. Available evidence indicates that telehealth PR yields comparable clinical outcomes to center PR in many studies, though considerable heterogeneity across trials leads to inconsistent conclusions regarding exercise capacity, quality of life and hospitalization endpoints. Notably, no interventional studies have delivered telehealth PR specifically for university staff with COPD. We conceptually propose that university staff with high digital literacy and structured occupational settings, constitute a promising target population for translational research in this domain. The review concludes with a conceptual framework for designing precise, intelligent home PR management within university communities.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health
Authors: Jia Wei, Haijun Zhang, Yiwei Wang, Qiaoli Su
Institutions: Sichuan University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W7214952910