Improving self‐care efficacy and quality of life with a self‐management program among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A quasi‐experimental study

Self‐management helps patients understand their illnesses and learn about disease‐related skills so they can better manage their situation. However, published studies on the effectiveness of self‐management for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are heterogeneous. Quasi‐experimental design was used to investigate the effectiveness of a self‐management program in self‐care efficacy and quality of life in patients with COPD. Sixty participants who had experienced COPD were assigned to control group (usual care) or experimental group (self‐care program) (1:1 ratio) according to a purposeful sampling at a Medical Center in Taiwan. The Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, the COPD Self‐Efficacy Scale, the Clinical COPD Questionnaire were used to analyze data. The Medical Research Council dyspnea scale was more significant improvement in the 2 months after discharge in the experimental group than in the control group. The COPD Self‐Efficacy Scale and Clinical COPD Questionnaire scores in the experimental group within 3 months after discharge were significantly improved compared with the control group. These findings demonstrate the application and initial effect of this self‐management program.