Rationale and development of a patient-tailored complex intervention of case management for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This article describes the rationale, considerations, and choices made in developing a complex intervention evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community-based case management for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in a Danish setting. Inspired by the existing research methods for designing complex interventions, the intervention was developed using mixed methods entailing systematic review of available literature, interviews with key stakeholders, and discussions in a specialist-comprised project group. The rigorous process helped develop an intervention that properly accounted for both available evidence and context of the setting. We encourage researchers to provide a transparent reporting of the process behind intervention development.