How this fits in

Referral to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an important activity, yet it is infrequently carried out by primary healthcare staff. It is suggested that increasing healthcare professionals’ knowledge and awareness of PR will positively change their referral behaviour; however, this qualitative study highlights many complex intertwined barriers to PR referral and few enablers for primary healthcare staff in England. The findings highlight some of the factors that should be addressed in addition to interventions targeting knowledge and raising awareness, to increase PR referral rates.