Table 1.
Patient and caregiver participant characteristics (n = 20)
| Characteristics | Patients (n = 10) | Family Caregivers* (n = 10) |
|---|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | ||
| Age, yr | 60.4 ± 7.5 | 58.3 ± 8.7 |
| African American race, % | 5 (50) | 4 (40) |
| Male sex, % | 7 (70) | 1 (10) |
| Married, % | 3 (30) | 5 (50) |
| Education (high school graduate), % | 5 (50) | 5 (50) |
| Health insurance, % | ||
| Medicare | 5 (50) | 5 (50) |
| Uninsured | 3 (30) | 1 (10) |
| Current Smoking, % | 5 (50) | 4 (40) |
| Religious preference | ||
| Protestant, % | 1 (10) | 3 (30) |
| None, % | 3 (30) | 1 (10) |
| Regularly attends religious services | 1 (10) | 7 (70) |
| Ever prayed for own health | 7 (70) | 9 (90) |
| Prior palliative care | 1 (10) | n/a |
| Advanced directive | 1 (10) | n/a |
| Identified surrogate decision maker | 3 (30) | n/a |
| Clinical characteristics | ||
| Charlson comorbidity index† | 1.5 ± 1.0 | n/a |
| GOLD Stage‡ | ||
| GOLD II (moderate), % | 3 (30) | n/a |
| GOLD III (severe), % | 3 (30) | n/a |
| GOLD IV (very severe), % | 4 (40) | n/a |
| FEV1 % predicted | 37.4 ± 20.4 | n/a |
| Supplemental oxygen, % | 8 (80) | n/a |
| ≥One severe exacerbations in the year prior, % | 3 (30) | n/a |
| Prior cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, % | 4 (40) | n/a |
| Severe dyspnea§ | 8 (80) | n/a |
Definition of abbreviations: FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in 1 second; GOLD = Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease.
*
Family caregivers represented the following relationships with patients: spouse (n = 4), ex-spouse (n = 2), significant other (n = 2), child (n = 1), and parent (n = 1).
†
Derived from 19 comorbidities; higher scores associated with higher mortality.
‡
Moderate = 50% ≤ FEV1 < 80%; severe = 30% ≤ FEV1 < 50%; very severe = FEV1 < 30%.
§
≥2 on the Modified Medical Research Council scale for dyspnea.