Abstract
Background:
COPD is characterized by airflow limitation and persistent respiratory symptoms. The health care professionals staffing pulmonary rehabilitation programs are charged with educating patients about their chronic lung disease. Given the considerable burden COPD poses, research is needed to identify the learning preferences of COPD patients to empower them to better self-manage their disease. The research question is, what are the perceived learning preferences of patients with COPD who are enrolled in a pulmonary rehabilitation program?
Methods:
This descriptive study recruited 15 patients diagnosed with COPD who were enrolled or completed a hospital-based outpatient pulmonary rehab program. The coordinator administered a 40-item questionnaire individually to the patients. The questionnaire asked, Personally, how interested are you in learning about . . . followed by the list of 40 educational topics. The patients rated their level of interest on a 5-point Likert scale for the first 38 items that ranged from Not at all interested (1) to Extremely interested (5). The last two items assessed the patients’ preferred method for learning new information about their COPD and in addition assessed the patients’ preferred method for learning how to use their inhaler device. The data was uploaded to SPSS and descriptive statistics were obtained for the demographic and survey data. This study was exempt by both IRBs, the authors’ institution [#6361] and the hospital [#19-01-04X] where the research was conducted.
Results:
The questionnaire was distributed to 15 patients and all of them returned completed questionnaires. The 38 items covering educational topics related to COPD were divided into 5 categories: survival skills, disease management, anatomy and physiology, psychosocial issues, and lifestyle issues. Mean category values were obtained by adding the mean scores for each topic in a category then dividing by the total number of topics in that category. Topics related to survival skills generated the highest mean score and topics on lifestyle issues generated the lowest mean score.
Conclusions:
Investigating perceived learning needs for patients with COPD provides a starting point when considering educational topics for a pulmonary rehabilitation program. This study demonstrates patients are interested in learning about managing their disease.
Table 1: Questionnaire Categories
Category
Mean
Mode
Mode Frequency %
SD
Survival Skills
4.31
5.00
57
0.94
Disease Management
4.30
5.00
51
0.83
Anatomy & Physiology
3.90
5.00
36
1.08
Psychosocial Issues
3.72
3.00
33
1.06
Lifestyle Issues
3.62
5.00
35
1.44
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