Developing a COPD Case Finding Methodology for Primary Care

The purpose of this qualitative work is to inform the content and structure of a new
screening measure for identifying undiagnosed at-risk COPD cases in primary care and support
content validity of the measure. This work will build on the results of a comprehensive
literature review and data mining analyses by identifying the symptomatic and health event
experiences of at-risk and newly diagnosed patients, as described by the patients
themselves. Specific objectives are as follows:

Objective 1: To elicit concepts and symptom descriptions of COPD from patients with a recent
diagnosis of COPD and those without a diagnosis but with risk factors for the disease. The
qualitative information obtained in these focus groups will be used to develop a new
questionnaire for identifying undiagnosed at-risk COPD cases in various clinic settings.

Objective 2: To review the new questionnaire with a new set of participants with a recent
COPD diagnosis or those at risk for COPD to ensure that: (a) the instructions are clear, (b)
the content of each question is appropriate and understandable to participants, (c) the
intended connotation of each questions is consistent with participants' interpretation or
assigned meaning, and (d) to assure that content is not seen as redundant across items. This
will be done through one-on-one cognitive interviews.

Objective 3: To gather data on the ease/difficulty of peak flow meter use by people without
or with a new diagnosis of COPD and the consistency of readings between electronic and
mechanical readings in these patients. This information will be used to inform the
development of peak-flow meter instructions for use as part of the screening methodology.