{
  "abstract": "Introduction and Objectives For many patients with severe asthma, breathlessness is the predominant symptom. Breathlessness experiences are highly individual, and there is no one resolution for all presentations. We introduced a multidisciplinary group intervention combining nutrition, exercise, and psychological support to improve beliefs about breathlessness and promote long term changes in symptom management.Methods A six-week group programme was conducted for individuals with severe asthma and obesity (BMI class I or above), led by a Specialist Physiotherapist, Dietitian, and Clinical Psychologist. Each two-hour session included one hour of interactive education, 45 minutes of circuit exercise, and 15 minutes for questions and peer discussion. Ten patients were invited; four attended over 75% of sessions, and two attended 50%. Beliefs about breathlessness were assessed using a modified Beliefs about Breathlessness Questionnaire, adapted to include nutrition and psychological elements. The questionnaire was conducted at screening, week one, four, and six.Results Table 1 summarises the key results from pre and post group. All patients agreed/strongly agreed feeling confident to make healthy lifestyle changes and this remained unchanged from pre- to post-group therapy. Participants consistently agreed pre- and post-group, that reducing their weight would improve their breathlessness. However, we found participants to report more positive beliefs regarding specific lifestyle changes to better manage their asthma following multidisciplinary group therapy. Beliefs about shortness of breath limiting exercise improved from disagree/neither agreed nor disagree, to agree/strongly agree. Other positive shifts were seen in beliefs relating to being able to do activities that healthy people do, that exercising more would improve their breathlessness, and that being overweight worsens breathlessness.Abstract P71 Table 1Health belief questionnaire outcomes pre- and post- multidisciplinary group therapyConclusions Patients reported unexpectedly high baseline confidence in making lifestyle changes, however, post-group therapy survey feedback indicated that the majority felt their confidence had increased. The most notable improvements were observed in exercise beliefs and the role of weight, with smaller changes in general health beliefs. This multidisciplinary group approach shows promise for improving lifestyle-related breathlessness beliefs in patients living with difficult asthma.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "St Bartholemew’s Severe Asthma Service, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "L Rose"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "St Bartholemew’s Severe Asthma Service, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "B Kemp"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "St Bartholemew’s Severe Asthma Service, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "V Rose"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "St Bartholemew’s Severe Asthma Service, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "P Pfeffer"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P71 Living well with difficult asthma: beliefs about breathlessness management through lifestyle changes in a dietitian-, physiotherapy-, and psychology-led multidisciplinary group",
  "uid": "7f062c4e-2b8b-5509-bb83-bc169b090670"
}