The goals of the program

For the patient, the primary goal of a pulmonary rehabilitation program is to:

• self-manage their disease
• better control and reduce their symptoms
• optimize their functional status

The whole endeavour is geared towards the patient maintaining a better quality of life and the highest possible degree of autonomy.

Rehabilitation programs notably enable the patient to:

• Increase their level of exercise tolerance and thereby diminish their disability
• Improve their compliance with the recommended treatment, as well as the early treatment of any exacerbations, with a decrease in the number of hospitalizations
• Decrease the frequency and severity of their symptoms
• Improve their mood and motivation
• Increase their autonomy through a more effective daily management of their disease
• Foster their participation in therapy decisions by building their self-management skills
• Improve their participation in daily activities
• Improve their quality of life
• Decrease the health care services required for the patient, their families and their communities
• Raise their survival rate