Evaluation of a self-management programme for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Published in: Chronic respiratory disease Vol. 11; no. 3; pp. 163 - 172
• Main Authors: Turner, AP, Anderson, JK, Wallace, LM, Kennedy-Williams, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.08.2014; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; self-management programme; patient activation; mastery
• ISSN: 1479-9723; 1479-9731; 1479-9731
• DOI: 10.1177/1479972314539979

Self-management is becoming an important part of treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We conducted a longitudinal survey of patients with COPD who attended a 7-week group-based lay and clinician co-delivered COPD self-management programme (SMP)to see whether they became more activated, enjoyed better health status, and quality of life, were less psychologically distressed and improved their self-management abilities. The main analysis was a per-protocol analysis (N = 131), which included only patients who attended ≥5 SMP sessions and who returned a 6-month follow-up questionnaires. Changes in the mean values of the patient outcomes were compared over time using paired t tests and general linear model for repeated measures. Patient activation significantly improved 6 months after the SMP (p < 0.001). There were also significant improvements in COPD mastery (p = 0.001) and significant improvements in a range of self-management abilities (self-monitoring and insight p = 0.03), constructive attitude shift (p = 0.04), skills and technique acquisition, (p < 0.001)). This study showed that a lay and clinician-led SMP for patients with COPD has the potential to produce improvements in important outcomes such as activation, mastery and self-management abilities.