Background Geographic clusters in prevalence and hospitalizations for COPD have been
identified at national, state, and county levels. The study objective is to identify county-level …

Purpose The burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is high in rural
America. Few studies, however, have examined urban/rural differences in health care …

Background Hospitalizations for persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) result in significant health care resource use and excess expenditures. Despite well …

Background Limited accessibility to health care may be a barrier to obtaining good care.
Few studies have investigated the association between access-to-care factors and COPD …

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of
morbidity and mortality caused by cigarette smoking and other environmental exposures …

Background There is limited knowledge on what proportions of patients with COPD receive
ambulatory care from primary care physicians, pulmonologists, or other specialists. We …

Background Little is known about the population-based burden of ED care for COPD.
Methods We analyzed statewide ED surveillance system data to quantify the frequency of …

Background For individuals with COPD, pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) improves outcomes in
terms of exercise capacity, severity of dyspnea, and health-related quality of life. However …

Background: Little is known about the possible differences in outcomes between patients
with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who live in rural areas and those who …

BACKGROUND: Numbers and rates of hospitalizations and ED visits by patients with COPD
are important metrics for surveillance purposes. The objective of this study was to examine …