The effects of intensive 3-week outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on exercise capacity, dyspnea, and health-related quality of life (HRQL) were investigated in patients with COPD. Two hundred ten patients with COPD (mean FEV(1) = 54%pred) underwent PR consisting of exercise training, patient and psychosocial education, breathing and relaxation therapy, nutrition counseling, and smoking cessation support. Before and after PR, exercise capacity was assessed with 6-min walking tests (6MWT) and constant cycle ergometer exercise (CEE). Dyspnea was measured after 6MWTs with a Borg scale and after PR with the Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI). HRQL was examined with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36). Results showed improvements in the 6MWT (+39 m, p < 0.001) and CEE (+241 W x min, p < 0.001) after PR, paralleled by decreased dyspnea during the 6MWT (-0.5, p < 0.001) and during activities (TDI score = 3.6). Increases in all SF-36 subscales reflected improved HRQL after PR (p < 0.001). No gender differences were found. Patients with milder versus more severe COPD improved similarly in most outcomes. Regression analyses revealed that TDI scores were the most important predictor of improvements in HRQL. The results suggest that intensive 3-week outpatient PR is associated with improvements in exercise capacity, dyspnea, and HRQL in male and female patients with COPD irrespective of COPD severity. Reduced dyspnea during activities contributed the most to improvements in HRQL.
A student survey was conducted to determine perceptions of such things as differential treatment due to gender, level of preparedness for courses in the hard sciences, and gender performances of students in the sciences. Additionally, students' grades of sixteen courses with a heavy hard science focus were analyzed by taking the percent of a letter grade sorted by male or female to determine if there was a significant gender difference in the final grades. Our objectives were to: 1) determine if the underrepresentation of women in some health-related jobs is due to discouragement of females to enter these professions or perceptions of success in hard science courses, 2) examine grades in courses with a strong biology and chemistry focus to see if a significant difference due to gender exists. We concluded that a gender gap in hard sciences grades at the School of Pharmacy did exist but the gap was not large and was not present in all courses. The majority of women were not discouraged to pursue a science based career, but there was a difference in the perceived confidence that many females exhibit in the ability to learn material in the hard science courses and in their preparedness for hard science exams.
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