Benzo 2016.

Study characteristics
Methods	Design: RCT Follow‐up: 12 months Control group: usual care
Participants	Recruitment: hospital (inpatient) Assessed for eligibility: 969 Randomly assigned: SM: 108; UC: 107 Completed: SM: 92; UC: 106 Mean age: SM: 67.9 (SD 9.8) years; UC: 68.1 (SD 9.2) years Gender (% male): SM: 43; UC: 48 COPD diagnosis: GOLD criteria, confirmed with spirometry (FEV1/FVC ratio < 0.7) Inclusion of participants in acute phase: yes, during hospitalisation Major inclusion criteria: admission for a COPD exacerbation Major exclusion criteria: medical conditions that would impair their ability to participate in the study or to provide informed consent; receiving hospice care
Interventions	Mode: individual sessions at hospital outpatient clinics, telephone calls, educational booklet Duration: two face‐to‐face individual sessions (first visit 120 min, second visit not reported) and 6 phone calls (mean duration 28.6 min (SD 10.0) Professional: (respiratory) nurse, respiratory therapist Assignment of case manager: yes, accessible to participant during the complete follow‐up period Self‐management components: self‐recognition of COPD exacerbations, use of a COPD exacerbation action plan, home based exercise or physical activity component, coping with breathlessness Self‐management topics: (maintenance) medication Behavioural change techniques: 5 clusters: goals and planning, feedback and monitoring, social support, shaping knowledge, repetition and substitution
Outcomes	1. Rate of COPD hospitalisation 2. Quality of life 3. Physical activity 4. Number of COPD exacerbations, based on emergency department visits, nurse triage, or urgent care clinics
Notes	Source of funding: supported by NHLBI grant R01 HL09468 (RB, principal investigator) from the National Institutes of Health Conflict of interest: none declared