Chest
Clinical Investigations: RehabilitationVariability in Performance of Timed Walk Tests in Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs
Section snippets
Study Design
A questionnaire regarding performance of walk tests was mailed to pulmonary rehabilitation programs in the United States and Canada included on the 1999 mailing list of the AACVPR. A cover letter was sent with the questionnaire, explaining the study and requesting questionnaire completion by the program coordinator. Programs were assured of confidentiality. No identifying data were included with the questionnaire.
Questionnaire
A questionnaire was devised to provide information about the following categories:
Results
Ninety-nine outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programs were targeted for study. Of the 99 questionnaires mailed, 3 were returned undelivered. Of the 75 questionnaires completed and returned (a 76% response), four respondents indicated that walk tests were not used in their programs. Results were based on responses from the 71 programs in which walk tests were performed. Characteristics of these programs are summarized in Table 1.
The majority of programs were coordinated by respiratory
Discussion
Walk tests have become common outcome measures in a variety of practice settings and in research. Recognized advantages of walk tests include ease of administration, relevance to activities of daily living, and a requirement for minimal resources. However, use of walk tests to measure changes in performance necessitates careful standardization of testing procedures. We sought to determine how commonly walk tests were included as an outcome measure in pulmonary rehabilitation, as well as to
Walk Test Survey Instrument
We are interested in learning how you perform walk tests to evaluate physical function. Please respond to the questions below according to the practices used in your program to complete walk tests. Circle the response(s) that most closely describe walk tests performed in your program. Where requested, please write responses in the space provided.
In our program, walk tests are
- a.
completed on all patients
- b.
completed on some patients
- c.
not used
If your response to the above question is “c” please
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A survey on the performance of the six-minute walk test
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6-Minute walk test in patients with COPD: clinical applications in pulmonary rehabilitation
2007, PhysiotherapyCitation Excerpt :This is most likely explained by habituation to dyspnoea in individuals with COPD, which is not a factor in healthy individuals. However, in clinical practice and studies of pulmonary rehabilitation a familiarisation 6MWT is not always performed and there is sometimes poor standardisation of the test protocol with little attempt to ensure an individual achieves their maximal performance on the test [32–37]. Where performance on the test is limited by symptoms from co-morbid conditions, for example musculoskeletal or claudication pain, it is reasonable to omit a second test at pre-training assessment.
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