Table 4 Consensus on the research priorities in COPD.
Rank | Question | Consensus (%)a | Mean rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
COPD | ||||
Diagnosis | 1 | How can we best educate healthcare professionals to improve the early recognition and diagnosis of COPD? | 94.1 | 4.44 |
2 | How should we best diagnose COPD in settings where good quality spirometry is not available or not affordable? | 91.2 | 4.32 | |
3 | What are the most cost-effective and efficient approaches for identifying COPD, especially in low-resource settings? | 88.3 | 4.26 | |
4 | How effective are public awareness/education campaigns to improve awareness and earlier diagnosis of COPD? | 82.3 | 4.26 | |
Management | 1 | How should we best manage COPD in patients with cardiovascular diseases, arrhythmias and uncontrolled hypertension? | 97.0 | 4.35 |
2 | How to tailor the current COPD management guidelines to suit those with comorbidities? | 94.1 | 4.38 | |
3 | How can we manage COPD patients with comorbidities in primary care using a personalised approach to reduce adverse reactions and limit disease progression? | 91.2 | 4.38 | |
4 | What is the optimal strategy for identifying and treating COPD exacerbations in primary care? | 91.2 | 4.35 | |
5 | Does shared care between primary care physicians and specialists improve the management of COPD patients and reduce exacerbations? | 88.3 | 4.21 | |
6 | How best could COPD treatments be tailored to suit different COPD phenotypes? | 88.3 | 4.15 | |
7 | How should COPD be managed in low- and middle-income countries, including rural community settings? | 88.2 | 4.18 | |
8 | How do primary care clinicians use spirometry findings to inform the ongoing management of COPD? | 85.3 | 4.03 | |
Monitoring | 1 | How do primary care clinicians use measures of disease progression in COPD to inform the care they provide? What is the impact of using measures of disease progression on quality of care and clinical outcomes? | 88.3 | 4.15 |
Self-management | 1 | How could we improve ‘patients’ adherence to inhalers? Which are the best methods to teach about inhaler use and how can we incorporate them in daily clinical practice? | 94.1 | 4.5 |
2 | How cost-effective are e-Health interventions, mobile and online applications (including wearables) in self-monitoring, symptoms control and adherence to medications in patients with COPD? | 91.2 | 4.29 | |
3 | What are the best engaging and supporting strategies for healthcare professionals to help improve self-management of COPD? | 88.2 | 4.24 | |
Prognosis | 1 | Is the early identification of COPD beneficial to patients in the long term? | 85.3 | 4.32 |
