Pulmonary Rehabilitation That Also Supports Family Carers of People With Chronic Lung Disease
Tests rehabilitation that includes family carers, for people with chronic lung disease.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Aveiro University
- Where
- Aveiro, Figueira da Foz Municipality, Lisbon, Matosinhos Municipality, Santa Maria da Feira, and Vila Nova de Gaia, PortugalSee the 7 sites
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Family-centred Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Empower Carers
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- People taking part
- 120 people, planned
- Started
- Sept 2026
- Expected to end
- Mar 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groups
- Treatments tested
- Carer inclusive pulmonary rehabilitation
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
- Record updated
- 27 August 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with a chronic lung disease who are referred for pulmonary rehabilitation, together with the unpaid family carer who helps them.
- Age
- 18 years or older, for both the patient and the carer.
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Patients have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, asthma, or lung cancer. They were clinically stable in the previous month (no medication change or exacerbation).
- Earlier treatment
- Patients must not have done a pulmonary rehabilitation programme in the last 6 months. They must be referred for pulmonary rehabilitation.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Cannot give informed consent (patient or carer)
- Signs of cognitive impairment (patient or carer)
- Pulmonary rehabilitation programme in the last 6 months (patient)
- Neoplastic or immunological disease limiting taking part in the programme (patient)
- Unstable or significant heart, muscle, bone, nerve or psychiatric condition limiting taking part (patient)
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 17 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Informal carers:
- Aged 18 years or older
- Providing unpaid informational, physical, practical, emotional, social, or financial support to a person with a chronic respiratory disease
- Identified by the patient as the primary informal carer; Patients:
- Aged 18 years or older
- Diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, asthma, or lung cancer
- Clinically stable in the previous month (no changes in medication or occurrence of exacerbations)
- Referred for pulmonary rehabilitation
- Report having an informal carer
Who cannot take part
- Signs of cognitive impairment; Patients:
- Signs of cognitive impairment
- Neoplastic or immunological disease, or an unstable or significant cardiac, musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, or psychiatric condition that limits the ability to participate in the pulmonary rehabilitation programme
- Informal carers:
- Unable to provide informed consent
- Unable to provide informed consent
- Participated in a pulmonary rehabilitation programme within the last 6 months
Other criteria
- Participants will be recruited as patient-informal carer dyads. Informal carers will be identified by a person with a chronic respiratory disease referred for pulmonary rehabilitation
Where in Portugal
- Laboratório de Investigação e Reabilitação Respiratória da Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro Lab3R-ESSUAAveiro, PortugalContact: Alda MarquesNot yet recruiting
- Unidade Local de Saúde Região de AveiroAveiro, PortugalContact: Maria Aurora MendesNot yet recruiting
- Unidade Local de Saúde Baixo MondegoFigueira da Foz Municipality, PortugalContact: Vitória MartinsNot yet recruiting
- Unidade Local de Saúde Santa MariaLisbon, PortugalContact: Maria Fátima RodriguesNot yet recruiting
- Unidade Local de Saude de MatosinhosMatosinhos Municipality, PortugalContact: Paula SimãoNot yet recruiting
- Unidade Local de Saúde Entre o Douro e VougaSanta Maria da Feira, PortugalContact: Rita GomesNot yet recruiting
- Unidade Local de Saúde de Gaia e EspinhoVila Nova de Gaia, PortugalContact: Inês C SanchesNot yet recruiting
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Chronic respiratory diseases are leading causes of death and disability worldwide, imposing an enormous burden on individuals, families, and societies. Dependence on others begins early in the disease course. Over 70% of people with a chronic respiratory disease rely on informal care for daily assistance. Informal carers face multiple demands that may affect their health and ability to provide care. However, support interventions remain largely absent. Informal carers have identified pulmonary rehabilitation as an opportunity to also support them. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a cornerstone non-pharmacological intervention comprising exercise training, education, psychosocial support, and behaviour change, and is known to improve symptoms, functional capacity, quality of life, and survival. Although including informal carers in pulmonary rehabilitation has shown promising benefits for family adjustment, pulmonary rehabilitation remains patient-centred, with no dedicated support for carers' specific needs.
Read full original descriptionShow less
This study will therefore redesign pulmonary rehabilitation to act as a dual-support intervention for both people with chronic respiratory disease and their informal carers. The study aims to assess the effects of carer inclusive pulmonary rehabilitation on preparedness for caregiving.
A total of 120 patient-informal carer dyads will be randomly assigned to either carer inclusive pulmonary rehabilitation or standard pulmonary rehabilitation. In both groups, patients will undergo pulmonary rehabilitation. In the carer inclusive pulmonary rehabilitation group, informal carers will also participate in the education and psychosocial support sessions, which will be specifically designed to also address their needs. In the standard pulmonary rehabilitation group, informal carers will not participate in the pulmonary rehabilitation programme.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Experimental groupTreatment being tested
Both individuals with chronic respiratory disease and their informal carers will participate in the pulmonary rehabilitation programme.
Treatment: Carer inclusive pulmonary rehabilitation
- Control groupOther group
All individuals with chronic respiratory disease will participate in pulmonary rehabilitation. Informal carers of people with chronic respiratory disease will not participate in the pulmonary rehabilitation.
Treatment: Pulmonary rehabilitation
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Family-centred Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Empower Carers
- Plain-language title
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation That Also Supports Family Carers of People With Chronic Lung DiseaseGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Record updated
- 27 August 2026