Introduction: People living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) encounter challenges in everyday life activities due to symptoms like breathlessness and fatigue. Compensatory strategies, such as using everyday technology (mechanical, electronic and digital equipment and functions encountered daily) and assistive technology (products, instruments, or equipment adapted or designed to improve functioning of people with disabilities), are crucial for supporting everyday life activities; thus, it is essential to explore therapeutic potentials of these technologies. The present review aims to synthesise research literature concerning the use of everyday technology and assistive technology to support everyday activities among persons living with COPD.
Methods: A narrative review was conducted with a systematic search in five bibliographic databases. Three sets of search terms were used: (i) everyday technology, assistive technology, and related terms, (ii) everyday life activities and related terms, and (iii) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related terms.
Results: Screening resulted in 26 included articles.Following the American Occupational Therapy Association framework, the identified articles show six categories of everyday life activities supported by everyday technologies and assistive technologies: health management, social participation, activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, leisure, and rest and sleep.
Conclusion: Most articles focus on everyday technology for health management; however, everyday technology may hold unexpected potential to support a broader array of everyday life activities. Little is known about assistive technology to support everyday life activities for people with COPD, though it is described as crucial for independence and energy conservation.
Keywords: Rehabilitation; activities of daily living; compensatory strategies; health management; self-help devices; social participation; technology.
Everyday technology and assistive technology are overlooked in pulmonary rehabilitation yet hold unused potentials to support a variety of everyday life activities of people living with COPD.Whereas everyday technology already plays a critical role to support health management, it can assist a much wider range of everyday life activities such as social participation with family and friends and IADL, e.g. financial management, shopping and leisure activities.Assistive technology is underutilized in pulmonary rehabilitation and is considered an overall precondition for being able to stay at home, preserving energy for more activities and to prevent isolation.