Alliance Building: Mobilizing Partners to Share the Signs and Symptoms of COPD

Background: COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a serious lung disease which makes it hard to breathe. Also known by other names, such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, COPD is the 3rd leading cause of death in America. In 2007, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) created the COPD Learn More Breathe Better® (LMBB) campaign to increase awareness of COPD among adults age 45 older. To take the campaign to the next level—from one that focuses primarily on awareness-building to one that motivates patients to talk to their doctor and get tested for COPD—the NHLBI awarded funding to 13 community-based coalitions to integrate the LMBB campaign with their outreach efforts. Methods : Local coalitions' activities lasted 13 months. At their conclusion, we interviewed participating team members and collected written reports from project leads. We asked about their successes, challenges, and take-home messages for future collaborative efforts. Approaches to address these challenges and build sustainable partnerships between local public health departments and COPD coalitions are explored. Results : Several key themes emerged as contributors for success including: collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders; synergy between the COPD coalition and state/local chronic disease programs; and improving the implementation of data collection. Barriers included the practicalities of getting spirometry and other lung function tests to those at highest risk, and the planning and execution of large-scale, community-based events