Program Description
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem in the Americas (a region of the world comprising North, Central, and South America), although there is substantial variation in disease prevalence, morbidity, and mortality between and within nations. Across the Americas, COPD disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including minoritized populations and impoverished persons, who are more likely to be exposed to risk factors such as tobacco use, air pollution, infections such as tuberculosis, and biomass smoke, but less likely to have adequate healthcare access.
Management of COPD can be challenging across the Americas, with some barriers being specific to certain countries and others shared across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Because most cases of COPD are undiagnosed because of suboptimal access to health care and pulmonary function testing and, thus, cannot be treated, increased access to spirometry would have a substantial impact on disease management across the Americas. For individuals who are diagnosed, access to medications and other interventions is quite variable across and within nations, even in those with universal healthcare systems, such as Canada and Brazil. This emphasizes the importance of collaborative treatment guidelines, which should be adapted for the healthcare systems and policies of each nation or region, as appropriate.
To have a positive impact on COPD management in the Americas, we propose actionable items, including the need for all our respiratory societies to engage key stakeholders (e.g., patient-led organizations, professional societies, and governmental and nongovernmental agencies) while advocating for campaigns and policies to ensure clean air for all; eliminate tobacco use and enhance coverage for treatment of nicotine dependence; and improve access to early case finding, diagnosis, and treatment for all patients, including underserved and vulnerable populations.
Target Audience
Pulmonologists, critical care specialists, translational researchers, and clinicians
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, learners should be able to:
- Describe recent findings regarding the epidemiology and risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the Americas
- Develop new strategies to overcome barriers to COPD treatment in the Americas
- Identify the most impactful approaches to reduce COPD burden in the Americas
Course summary
1.00 Participation
1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit
Credit Expires: November 01, 2026
Format: Journal
This section is not in use.
ACCREDITATION STATEMENT
The American Thoracic Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
| Credit Type | Credit/Points | Credit Designation Statement |
| AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ | 1.00 | The American Thoracic Society designates this Journal for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. |
DISCLOSURE DECLARATIONS
The current practice of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM) is to publish high quality, peer-reviewed and evidence-based original research, Concise Clinical Reviews, Guidelines and Consensus Statements. Articles published in AJRCCM include evidence-based summaries of optimal practice (Concise Clinical Reviews), evidence-based guidelines, workshop summaries and original contributions that will influence clinical practice. The publication of these articles by itself is only one piece of a multi-step process for the translation of evidence-based improvements in care to clinical practice. Articles selected for CME credit are designed to be the next step in the process of translating clinically relevant, evidence-based recommendations into clinical practice. This will be accomplished through a series of questions specifically designed by the author(s) to test that readers have the tools needed to translate recommendations for diagnostic and therapeutic clinical care into clinical practice. Members of the AJRCCM editorial board will review these questions and assess the quality of the questions based on:
- Clarity,
- Educational content, and
- The quality of the evidence supporting the response to the question. Posttest questions will assess if practitioners have understood the most important recommendations available for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary diseases, critical illness, and sleep disorders and are able to implement them into clinical practice.
Article Authorship Disclosures (as submitted to the ATS prior to article publication date)
All relevant financial relationships have been reviewed and mitigated.
Francesca Polverino, M.D., Ph.D., A.T.S.F. (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX) reported funds for the current manuscript from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Baylor College of Medicine, grants or contracts from Victory Houston and Boehringer Ingelheim, and consulting fees from Sanofi-Regeneron, Verona Pharma, Genentech, AstraZeneca, and Amgen. Dr. Polverino received support to attend the ATS 2023 conference, is a Journal Section editor at the European Respiratory Journal, and the RCMB Program Committee Chair.
Mohit Bhutani, M.D. (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) reported grants or contracts from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, and Sanofi; and consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Sanofi, Valeo, and Covis. Dr. Bhutani also reported payment or honoraria from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Sanofi, Valeo, and Covis, as well as a leadership role on the Canadian Thoracic Society Executive and Board of Directors.
Gustavo Zabert, M.D. (Universidad Nacional de Comahue, Neuquén, Argentina) reported funding and grants or contracts from AstraZeneca, as well as consulting fees from GSK; payment or honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and Abbott; payment for expert testimony from Abbott; and support for attending meetings from Boehringer Ingelheim and Abbott.
Frederico Leon Arrabal Fernandes, M.D. (Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil) reported consulting fees from GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, and AstraZeneca and honoraria from GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, and AstraZeneca. Dr. Fernandes also reported support for meeting travel from Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim, and a leadership role in the Brazilian Respiratory Society.
Karen Czischke, M.D. (Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile) reported honoraria from AstraZeneca, and membership in the Chilean Respiratory Society.
Luiz Fernando Pereira Ferreira, M.D. (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte,
Brazil) reported no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Lian Szabo, M.D. (University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada) reported no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Juan P. Wisnivesky, M.D., Dr.P.H. (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY) reported no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Margareth Pretti Dalcolmo, M.D. (Centro de Referência Helio Fraga, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) reported no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Juan C. Celedón, M.D., Dr.P.H., A.T.S.F. (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA) reported receipt of equipment/research materials from Merck.
Off-Label Usage Disclosure
None
Disclosures of AnnalsATS CME Planners
The Annals of the American Thoracic Society (AnnalsATS) original research, commentaries, reviews, and educational content of interest to clinicians and clinical investigators in pediatric and adult pulmonary and sleep medicine and medical critical care. The scope of the journal encompasses content that is applicable to clinical practice, the formative and continuing education of clinical specialists, and the advancement of public health.
The publication of articles that meet these goals by itself is only one step in a multi-step process for the translation of evidence-based improvements in are to clinical practice. Testing for CME credit is designed to function as a next step in the process. This is accomplished through a series of questions written by the author(s) to test that readers have the tools needed to translate recommendations for diagnostic and therapeutic clinical care into clinical practice. Members of the AnnalsATS editorial board review these questions and edit these questions for clarity, educational content, and the quality of the evidence supporting the response to the question.
AnnalsATS CME Planners
Margaret M. Hayes, M.D.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Dr. Hayes reported receiving payments as an author for a chapter on heliox for UpToDate.
Caroline Okorie, M.D., M.P.H.
Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Dr. Okorie reported no financial relationships with ineligible companies.
INSTRUCTIONS TO RECEIVE CREDIT
To receive credit for this journal article:
- Read the journal article. Keep track of how long it takes you to read it.
- Once you open the article, the Post-Test becomes available. After reading the article, answer the post-test questions. You must answer all questions correctly to earn credit. You may take the test as many times as you like.
- Once you pass the Post-Test, the Evaluation becomes available. Answer all the evaluation questions.
- Once you complete the evaluation, select the amount of credit to receive based on the time it took you to read the article.
- You can view, save and print your Certificate by pressing the Certificate button.
- To review the credits you've earned in this system and reprint certificates, go to the My Learning drop-down list. Then select Transcript.