PR Plus+: Maintenance programmes following Pulmonary Rehabilitation: The patient perspective

<bold>Background:</bold> Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is the recognised gold-standard of community-based care for chronic respiratory conditions but long-term gains in patient wellbeing are not sustained. Community-based exercise maintenance programmes have shown promise in addressing this issue but there is an absence of qualitative patient data informing same. <bold>Methods:</bold> Participants who had completed a programme of PR within the previous 18 months at Irish Health Service Executive Primary Care centres in Limerick and Ennis were invited to participate in focus groups discussing PR maintenance programmes. <bold>Results:</bold> Seventeen participants (female:n=9 (53%); mean (SD) age:68.8 (10.1) years) took part in four focus groups (three in-person, one online) in July, 2023. All participants reported a positive PR experience, but most failed to maintain exercise habits afterwards. All participants were enthusiastic about maintenance programmes, which they thought should be led by a trained health/fitness professional or a clinician. Six-eight week rolling blocks to be accessed within one-two months post-PR, comprising exercise and social components were preferred. Educational sessions were favoured by some, with others finding these boring and repetitive. Light-touch ongoing assessment to monitor progress was preferred. In-person settings for maintenance classes were overwhelmingly favoured over online offerings. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> Patient insights about PR maintenance programmes provide useful guidance for policy makers considering provision of this service.