J Korean Acad Adult Nurs.  2008 Feb;20(1):163-175.

Self-Care, Symptom Experience, and Health-Related Quality of Life by COPD Severity

Affiliations
  • 1Internal Medicine Respiratory Care Ward, Dong-A Medical Center, Korea.
  • 2College of Nursing, Pusan National University, Korea. skhwang@pusan.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study aimed to define the relationship among self-care, symptom experiences, and health-related quality of life(HRQoL) according to the severity of disease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) patients.
METHODS
The participants, 195 COPD patients, were recruited at a pulmonology clinic of a universityaffiliated medical center in B metropolitan city. Inclusion criteria were patients who were diagnosed as COPD and had less than 0.7 of FEV1/FVC(Forced Expiratory Volume for 1 second/Forced Vital Capacity) ratio. The severity was classified with GOLD(Global initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease) stages, FEV1% predicted value from mild to very severe. The data were gathered by the medical records and self-reported questionnaires.
RESULTS
The self-care, symptom experience, and HRQoL were all significantly different by COPD severity based on pulmonary function(p<.05). There were significant moderate negative relationships between symptom experiences and self-care(r=-.54, p<.001) and between symptom experiences and HRQoL(r=-.64, p<.001). There was a moderate positive correlation between self-care and HRQoL(r=.63, p<.001).
CONCLUSION
It suggests that the assessment of disease severity based on pulmonary function and subjective symptom experience in patients with COPD may be a key component to develop a tailored self-management program and to improve their quality of life.

Keyword

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD); Self care; Quality of life

MeSH Terms

Humans
Lung
Medical Records
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Medicine
Quality of Life
Self Care
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