World COPD Day 2007: Help Your Community Remember a Forgotten Disease

September 21, 2007

COPD is often called the “forgotten disease,” but this November you have the perfect opportunity to make sure people in your community remember: World COPD Day, coming up on the 14th, gives respiratory therapists everywhere the chance to shine the spotlight on this major worldwide disease and how the treatments and services provided by respiratory therapists are helping patients breathe easier.

Scheduled to coincide with the middle of COPD Month, World COPD Day is spearheaded by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) in partnership with the AARC and other health organizations to raise global awareness of COPD.  These facts from the World Health Organization show why our support is so critical:

• COPD is currently the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, affecting at least 10 percent of all adults over the age of 40.
• More than 600 million people are suffering with COPD today, many of them undiagnosed and untreated.

As key clinicians involved in COPD care, respiratory therapists can and should take the lead in organizing media events and community service activities to educate patients and the public about this devastating but increasingly treatable condition. Consider these suggestions:

• Host a spirometry screening to inform your community of the role this important test plays in diagnosing COPD.
• Offer a smoking cessation clinic specifically for COPD patients to highlight the key role smoking cessation plays in treating the condition.
• Hold a clinic to explain correct use of MDIs/DPIs to COPD patients using these medications.
• Schedule an informative lecture for COPD patients who have been newly diagnosed to assist them in better understanding the disease.

The World COPD web site has a lot of great downloadable resources you can use in your programs, but you can also find just about everything you need to get started right here at the AARC.

AARC resources you can share with patients and use in your community service events:

YourLungHealth.org: The AARC’s consumer web site has a wealth of information on COPD aimed directly at patients. Among the top choices –

• A comprehensive overview of COPD, complete with a definition of the condition, how it is caused, how it is diagnosed, and what people can do to treat it.
• Ask Dr. Tom, a great feature where patients and providers alike can get answers from world renowned pulmonologist Tom Petty, MD, FAARC.
• Use Your Inhaler Correctly, an online tutorial initially set up for Respiratory Care Week that will help patients get the most out of their medications. 
• 60 Second Checkup Radio Series, which has featured several segments on COPD over the past few years.
• Smoking cessation resources to help COPD patients kick the habit.
• Living Well with Lung Disease Health Tips, including several specifically targeting people with COPD.

AARC.org: The Association’s main web site is also full of news, information, and resources pertaining to COPD, including great public relations resources that will help respiratory therapists gain media coverage for events –

• AARC Webcasts: Check out the archived webcasts for presentations on COPD-related topics.

• AARC Headline News: Scroll through our news archive to find numerous articles related to COPD that you can use to tie your media activities into recent studies and other reports.  
• Confronting COPD in America: Use the statistics in the groundbreaking “Breathless in America” report to prepare your educational and media materials.
• Public Relations Resources: Take advantage of the AARC’s public relations materials to learn more about how to contact media sources and get coverage for your World COPD Day events and activities. 
• Free Photos: Looking for photos to illustrate your PR materials? As an AARC member, you have access to the AARC’s Photo Gallery of free downloadable photos of RTs working with a wide variety of patients.  
• AARC Press Releases: Take advantage of past AARC press releases, many of which target COPD and its related issues. 
• Tobacco Resources: Smoking is the number one cause of COPD, and quitting smoking is considered key to treating the condition. The AARC has gathered a wealth of resources on tobacco cessation that may help in your World COPD Day efforts – including some great PowerPoint presentations.  

Also, be sure to read your November issue of AARC Times, which should be in the mail by mid-October. The issue features several articles on COPD care and treatment, plus our latest batch of “COPD Stories,” written by respiratory therapists from across the country and illustrating the strong bond that often develops between RTs and their COPD patients.

Our partner organization, the National Lung Health Education Program (NLHEP) can help you plan your COPD Day events too. Check out these great resources: 

• Downloadable posters in English and Spanish encourage the use of spirometry to diagnose COPD.
• Save Your Breath, America! is a popular brochure covering all the COPD basics.
• Test Your Lungs - Know Your Numbers is another brochure featuring an overview of the organization’s program to promote the use of spirometry in physicians’ offices.
• Links to resources available from the federal government, American College of Chest Physicians, and more.

Sample documents proclaiming November as COPD Awareness Month:

Here are a couple of samples you can use to request a proclamation in your city or state for COPD Month.

Share your stories and events: