Distance from home to rehabilitation center did not influence adherence to pulmonary rehabilitation program: a retrospective study

Background: Adherence to treatment is critical when dealing with chronic diseases. One of the difficulties in maintain long-term adherence is the distance from home to rehabilitation center. Objective: To determine the influence of the distance from subjects’ residence to rehabilitation center on adherence of a 12-week pulmonary rehabilitation program in chronic respiratory disease. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed patients’ medical records with chronic respiratory diseases from a pulmonary rehabilitation center. Driving distance between patients’ home and rehabilitation center was calculated with Google maps. The home-rehabilitation center distances were classified in three levels: up to 10, 10-30 and more than 30 km. Results: 280 medical records from patients with chronic pulmonary diseases with medical indication to follow the pulmonary rehabilitation program were found and 148 medical records were included in our study. Out of them, the majority (n = 93) had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Seventy percent of patients lived up to 10 km, 24% lived between 10 and 30 km and 6% lived more than 30 km. No difference in adherence was found comparing the three groups based on the distance from home to rehabilitation center. Conclusion: In this study, distance between home and rehabilitation center did not influence adherence to pulmonary rehabilitation program.