The Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation & Prevention is the go-to resource for what’s new in the discipline — and it’s all at AACVPR members’ fingertips. To help celebrate PR WEEK 2026, News & Views has curated a list of recommended reading for the pulmonary rehab (PR) community pulled from the pages of this peer-reviewed specialty publication.
The ink is barely dry on the freshest articles in JCRP’s latest issue! In addition to the March 2026 content and an article from the first issue of the year, you’ll also want to revisit three 2025 articles that add to the growing body of evidence on COVID-19 and the syndrome known as Long COVID.
See below for:
- Titles and brief descriptions of the latest content so far this year
- The titles and a high-level overview of last summer’s COVID articles, which all appeared in JCRP’s July 2025 edition
- Instructions on how to access the full text of JCRP articles for free
Respiratory Research of Interest to the Pulmonary Rehab Professional:
Comparative Efficacy of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients With COPD, ILD, and Long COVID: PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES — Published online ahead of print
In this article, PR was found to be similarly impactful to improving physical and psychosocial function in patients with Long COVID as it is for patients diagnosed with COPD and interstitial lung disease. If your program hasn’t been able to make the case for increased referrals to pulmonary rehab for patients with Long COVID, consider checking out this article for more information on the benefits of PR for Long COVID patients.
Beyond Physical Frailty—the Value of Lifestyle and Social Frailty Factors to Predict Mortality and Hospitalization in COPD — Published in the January issue of JCRP
Typically, physical frailty is the focus of assessments when predicting patient mortality and hospitalization due to COPD, but this article makes the case that lifestyle and social frailty factors (like loneliness, living situation, and interpersonal relationships) should also be included when assessing patients.
Depression Symptoms in Patients With COPD: A Randomized Study of Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation With Health Coaching — Published in the March 2026 issue of JCRP
Just published in the March 2026 issue of JCRP, this article studied the impact of home-based rehabilitation and health coaching on symptoms of depression, fatigue, emotions, and quality of life in patients with COPD and symptoms of depression at the onset of the rehabilitation program. The study found that improvements in these symptoms were maintained three months and six months after the program, indicating that home-based rehab with health coaching may be effective in addressing symptoms of depression for patients with COPD.
Investigating the Role of Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Cognition in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review — Also published in the March 2026 issue
COPD may cause mild cognitive impairment in patients in addition to respiratory symptoms. This systematic review article from the March 2026 issue of JCRP set out to investigate the impacts of PR on cognitive function for patients with COPD. The authors reviewed 10 existing studies on the topic, and found that PR positively impacts attention, memory, and executive function.
COVID-19/Long COVID Spotlight:
Effects of Physical Exercise on Functional Physical Performance in Individuals With Long COVID: A Systematic Review
When the Treatment Needs a Home: The Application of Exercise Interventions in Long COVID
Effect of Masking Secondary to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pulmonary Rehabilitation Outcomes
HIGH-LEVEL OVERVIEW:
COVID-19 and Pulmonary Rehabilitation — Still More to Learn!
While the days of social distancing and quarantines may be behind us, COVID-19 still has a significant impact on the PR landscape. Check out the brief summaries below to learn more about the benefits of PR for Long COVID patients and learn more about the impact of masking on PR patient outcomes.
Effects of Physical Exercise on Functional Physical Performance in Individuals With Long COVID: A Systematic Review
This article sought to study the impact of exercise training on outcomes for patients with Long COVID-19. Seven articles were reviewed and analyzed by the team for this systematic review, and the characteristics of the articles are thoroughly outlined. The author group reviewed results in patient strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, anxiety, depression, quality of life, dyspnea, and fatigue within each article. The results of the analysis are summarized below.
Summary of Outcomes in Patients With Long COVID-19 After Strength Training
- 4 of the 6 studies showed increases in patient strength after exercise training
- 3 of the 6 studies showed increases in cardiorespiratory fitness
- 1 of the 4 studies showed improvement in anxiety symptoms
- 3 of the 4 studies showed improvement in depression symptoms
- 5 of the 5 studies showed improvements in quality of life
- 2 of the 5 studies showed improvement in reported dyspnea
- 4 of the 5 studies showed improvement in fatigue
These findings highlight the potential benefits of participation in exercise training for patients with Long COVID-19.
Invited Editorial: When the Treatment Needs a Home: The Application of Exercise Interventions in Long COVID
In this article, the author group reviews the findings of the previous article (Effects of Physical Exercise on Functional Physical Performance in Individuals With Long COVID: A Systematic Review) and make the case for patients with Long COVID-19 to receive exercise training through participation in PR. In addition to the exercise training that has been shown to help improve patient outcomes, PR also provides participants with psychological support along with coaching and self-management techniques that are individualized to each patient.
The article goes on to provide strategies on how exercise can be modified for patients with Long COVID-19 by focusing on exercises that require lower levels of exertion, like resistance training. Additionally, the article discusses the possible benefit of home-based inspiratory muscle training for patients with dysfunctional breathing that may not otherwise be able to participate in exercise activities. Finally, the author group makes the case that PR is particularly well suited to adapt programs to accommodate patient psychological symptoms, based on the psychological and health-related quality of life components of PR programs. From increasing the frequency of supervised exercise to the use of low-impact exercise techniques like yoga and tai chi, PR programs are well suited to adapting to patient needs to help minimize the psychological burden of Long COVID-19.
Research Letter: Effect of Masking Secondary to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pulmonary Rehabilitation Outcomes
In this research letter, the authors set out to determine if patients that masked during their participation in PR during the COVID-19 pandemic had different outcomes and completion rates when compared to patients that participated in PR prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore were not masked.
The analysis found that masking did not have a significant impact on patient outcomes or completion rates. In fact, the results showed a slightly higher completion rate for patients that masked, although the researchers noted that result could be based on the composition of the patient population that participated in PR during the pandemic period. The patients tended to be younger and had lower COPD percentages, among other varying characteristics.
