Listening to the unmet needs of Europeans with COPD

![][1] Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe [1, 2], which has a major resource impact on both primary and secondary healthcare [3]. COPD has a huge impact on people with the condition, causing a gradual decline in functional ability and greater dependence upon health and social care support with both ageing and disease progression [4]. Patients with COPD are also likely to suffer with significant co-morbidities that further impair their quality of life and independent living [5]. Evidence is growing from audits in individual countries that COPD patient care varies widely between different hospitals and across Europe and is frequently not consistent with published guidelines [6–8]. There are many different service models and it remains unknown which deliver the best results for patients. In all likelihood, the care given to COPD patients can be improved if there is better understanding of care and service organisation factors in European hospitals that promote better outcomes. The recent European Respiratory Society (ERS) European COPD audit, conducted in 2010–2011, provides data on quality of care from over 400 hospitals in 13 countries [9]. This study confirmed that the quality of patient care varies not just between European countries in different health systems, but that there is even greater variability between hospitals within individual countries [10]. Discharge from hospital is a key moment for patients, and data on medications, oxygen and rehabilitation relating to discharge were collected in the audit. The scope of the audit did not, however, include out-of-hospital care or specifically the views and experiences of hospital care of COPD patients themselves. Therefore, an event was designed to address this deficiency with the following aims: 1. To better understand … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif