Knowledge on self care among COPD patients attending at Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital, Bharatpur

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and global health concern. COPD self care knowledge is a cornerstone for self-management of chronic illness. The objective of this study was to find out the level of knowledge on self care among COPD patients. A descriptive, cross sectional design and purposive sampling was applied in which 182 patients were interviewed by using semi-structure interviews schedule at Chitwan Medical College, Teaching Hospital, Bharatpur. Data was analyzed by using SPSS and descriptive and inferential test was applied. The study findings revealed that 36.8% of the respondents were between age group 61-70 years, 54.4% respondents were male, 59.9% were from Chitwan district, majority of the respondents (62.1%) were outpatient, 48.4% had a history of COPD more than 5 years, 83.2%were hospitalized 1-2 times in last year, 63.2% had no history of COPD in family members and all respondents got information from health personnel. Highest percentage (75) of mean score on smoking cessation and lowest (10) on weight monitoring. Most of all respondents (90.7%) had poor level of knowledge on self care of COPD. The respondents’ level of knowledge on self care is statistically significant with family history (p=0.048), educational status (p=0.000), and types of patient (p=0.017).So, there should be need of health education program for COPD patients about self care to improve knowledge. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v4i3.11938Journal of Chitwan Medical College 2014; 4(3):34-37

Self-management practice, associated factors and its relationship with health literacy and patient activation among multi-morbid COPD patients from rural Nepal

“…In this community-based study, we identified that being uneducated, with a low level of family income (β = − 5.22, p = .002), and having one co-morbidity were all significantly associated with SMPs among the multi-morbid COPD patients of Nepal. Our finding is consistent with observations from a previous Nepalese study that concluded lack of education among the COPD patients contributed to poor SMPs such as incorrect use of inhalers [5], knowledge on self-care [6] and knowledge on COPD [7]. Patients with no education have poor functional health literacy and thus are more likely to have a poorer understanding of self-management skills including information management, symptoms management, daily lifestyle management, emotional management, and selfefficacy, in turn resulting in poor SMPs.…”

“…It is possible that this difference could be due to the difference in the instruments used to measure self-management practices. In this light, a hospital-based study from Nepal reported that 90.7% of COPD patients had a poor level of knowledge on the self-care of COPD [6]. In Nepal, the majority of the COPD patients seek services from the government or private hospitals because of the inadequacy of available services at the primary health care level.…”

“…COPD self-management primarily involves self-recognition and management of symptoms, taking medication, having a healthy diet, coping with breathlessness, quitting smoking and engaging in regular physical exercise to maintain good health [4]. Evidence shows that various factors such as educational status [5][6][7], family history of COPD [6], lack of social support [8] and low socioeconomic status of family [9] are associated with poor SMPs.…”

Self-management practice, associated factors and its relationship with Health Literacy and Patient Activation among multi-morbid COPD patients from rural Nepal

“…In this community-based study, we identified that being uneducated, with a low level of family income (β=-5.22, p=.002), and having one co-morbidity were all significantly associated with SMPs among the multi-morbid COPD patients of Nepal. Our finding is consistent with observations from a previous Nepalese study that concluded lack of education among the COPD patients contributed to poor SMPs such as incorrect use of inhalers (5), knowledge on self-care (6) Our research found a negative association between low-level SMPs and the presence of more than one co-morbidity. In contrast, a study conducted by Bringsvor et al focusing on COPD patients that showed that the presence of co-morbidities was associated with poor self-management practices (32).…”

“…It is possible that this difference could be due to the difference in the instruments used to measure self-management practices. In this light, a hospitalbased study from Nepal reported that 90.7% of COPD patients had a poor level of knowledge on the self-care of COPD (6). In Nepal, the majority of the COPD patients seek services from the government or private hospitals because of the inadequacy of available services at the primary health care level.…”