Effects of person-centred care via telephone on self-efficacy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Subgroup analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

This is a subgroup analysis of a secondary outcome from a randomized trial, not the main trial outcome. The COPD subgroup was relatively small. Baseline sex distribution differed between groups, with more men in the intervention group. COPD stage was not regularly documented, so it could have confounded results. The Swedish Cardiac Self-Efficacy Scale was not originally designed for COPD. Missing questionnaire data were handled by carrying forward baseline or last observation, which can weaken confidence. The intervention combined several components, so the effect of any single part cannot be separated.

The work was supported by the Centre for Person-Centred Care at the University of Gothenburg, Swedish Government strategic research funding, the Swedish Research Council, the Heart & Lung Foundation, state county council ALF funding, and a regional primary health care research unit. The funders had no role in study design or data analysis, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude telephone person-centred care improves all self-efficacy or physical function. It improved confidence in controlling illness in a COPD subgroup analysis of a secondary outcome, while global self-efficacy and maintain function were not significantly different. The intervention also included usual care, nurse calls, goal setting and mailed plans, so no single component can be credited.