The Effects of a Walking Exercise Program on Fatigue in the Person with COPD.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of a walking exercise program, three times a week for 8 weeks, on fatigue in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

DESIGN: This study was a randomized controlled trial.

METHODS: Walking exercise was applied to the intervention group three times a week for 8 weeks; no exercise was applied to the control group.

FINDINGS: No difference was seen between the points of pretest fatigue of the intervention and control groups (t = -0.788, p = .434). However, according to the posttest, the intervention group's point of fatigue was lower than the control groups, and this difference was statistically significant (t = -3.924, p = .001).

CONCLUSION: It was found that a walking exercise program applied to patients with COPD affected the fatigue symptom positively.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Walking exercises programme can be used by nurses as a reference to monitor chronic obstructive pulmoner disease patients' health status.