scholarly journals The ties that bind us: how existing relationships, health and gender shape family care in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice G. Gullick ◽  
M. Colleen Stainton

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) changes family roles and relationship dynamics and the experience of the disease is influenced by family functioning. Merleau- Ponty&rsquo;s existential philosophy of the body provided the framework for this Heideggerian phenomenological inquiry. Fifteen people with COPD and 14 family members engaged in 58 semi-structured interviews either face-to-face or by telephone. This study identified a difference in the essence of the lived experiences between male and female carers, and between spousal and non-spousal carers in relation to severe COPD. Previous reciprocity framed the level of acceptance of the caring role and perception of care burden. The stories highlight the self-perceived need for women carers to be <em>conscious micro-managers</em> of illness. Male family members would care alongside, lending support and caring in a reactive way as specific needs or crises arose. Caring in COPD required a <em>binding vigilance</em>; a constant need of the carer to monitor the physical and emotional well-being of the sick person that bound them emotionally and cognitively to the task of caring. Carers were the managers of crises and families cared from a perspective of possible death. Family was perceived as the best thing in life. Health professionals should consider the influence of gender, family relationships and the impact of reciprocity when planning support for family caregivers. Further research is required to identify the similarities and differences in family caring between COPD and other chronic illnesses, and to further understand the specific needs of male carers.

Author(s):  
Kavita S. Joshi ◽  
Prasad R. Amrale ◽  
Sagar S. Ahire

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients often present considerable individual medical burden in their symptoms, limitations, and well-being that complicate medical treatment. Quality of life (QOL) is an important aspect for measuring the impact of chronic diseases. HRQOL measurement facilitates the evaluation of efficacy of medical interventions and also the detection of groups at risk of psychological or behavioural problems.Methods: COPD patient attending the OPD/IPD are screened as per inclusion and exclusion criteria. After obtaining a written informed consent of eligible patient, they were enrolled in the study. QOL of patient is assessed based on a set of questionnaire i.e. COPD Assessment Test™ (CAT). The questionnaire was translated to Hindi and Marathi. Socio demographic variable like age, sex, education occupation and income are also collected. All 8 questions related to health-improvement and management of COPD. CAT scores were given to each question according to the level of impact.Results: In the total score of CAT we observed that there were 2.04% patients with very good QOL, 25.51% with good QOL, 61.22% with moderate QOL and 11.22% with poor QOL.Conclusions: We conclude that the quality of life is moderate in larger number of patient’s population. The most affected domain was the patient’s energy level. The patients enrolled had COPD from long period of time which might have affected their answer because they have been habitual with the difficulties arising from COPD.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torunn K Vatnøy ◽  
Elin Thygesen ◽  
Bjørg Dale

Introduction The way in which telemedicine contributes to promote coping and independence might be undervalued in the development of telemedicine solutions and the implementation of telemedicine interventions. This study explored how home-living patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experienced follow-up using telemedicine, and the extent to which the implemented technology was able to support and improve the patients’ coping resources and independence. Methods A qualitative approach with individual semi-structured interviews was used. Ten patients diagnosed with COPD participated. The data were transcribed verbatim and a qualitative content analysis method was used, including analyses of the manifest and latent content of the texts. Results The participants’ positive attitude to handling and understanding the technology and the positive and negative feelings related to use the technology derived the theme: “The telemedicine solution is experienced as comprehensible and manageable and provides meaning in daily life”. The importance of telemedicine services that provided trust and confidence, the intervention’s impact on independence and self-management and the intervention’s ability to support integrity and meaning in life, derived the theme: “The telemedicine intervention contributes to stress reduction caused by illness burden and facilitates living as normally as possible”. Discussion The impact of a telemedicine intervention might be influenced by the experience of a technological solution that requires little effort to deal with, while it must also provide meaning in life. Furthermore, the telenurses’ expertise and the intervention’s flexibility, i.e. possibilities for individual adaption, might promote coping to facilitate living as normally as possible despite illness.


2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice G. Gullick ◽  
M. Colleen Stainton

AbstractSmoking is the major predisposing factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet there has been little understanding of the embodied experience of smoking addiction for the person with chronic breathlessness and their close family members. This interpretive study applies Merleau-Ponty's existential philosophy of the body as a philosophical framework. Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology was the mode of inquiry used to gain understanding by engaging 15 people who were admitted to hospital for palliative surgery for emphysema, and 14 close family members in a total of 58 in-depth interviews. People with severe emphysema experienced smoking as a need of their taken-for-granted body. This need was experienced as an intense enjoyment, and as a response to triggers for smoking that were still perceived by the automatic body long after smoking cessation. People with COPD and their families described a link between heavy smoking and exacerbations of breathlessness that created a tension between continued smoking behaviour and awareness of smoking-related illness. Failure to overcome the body's addiction to smoking could lead to the person's denial of the relationship between their need to smoke and their worsening breathlessness. The need to smoke can lead to family anger that is mediated by each family member's personal experience of addiction. Even after cessation, the issue of smoking as part of the situation of COPD was in the foreground for family carers, as it was for the breathless people themselves. This discussion highlights the importance of ‘the right words at the right time’ in assisting a multifaceted approach to smoking cessation.


BJGP Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen20X101055
Author(s):  
Rebecca Nightingale ◽  
Paul Griffiths ◽  
Kevin Mortimer ◽  
Paul Walker ◽  
Tara Byrne ◽  
...  

BackgroundSmoking rather than injecting heroin has become more common over the last 20 years. Although there is an increasing body of evidence describing high levels of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in people who smoke heroin, there is limited evidence documenting the impact of the long-term condition on this population group.AimThis study aimed to describe the experiences of people who smoke heroin with COPD in Liverpool, UK.Design & settingParticipants were purposefully sampled for this qualitative study. They included adults enrolled in an opioid replacement clinic run by Addaction in Liverpool, who had already engaged with spirometry testing for COPD as part of a previous study.MethodSemi-structured interviews were performed with participants with spirometrically confirmed COPD in opioid replacement clinics. Data were analysed using a framework analysis approach.ResultsSixteen potential participants were invited to take part in the study, of which 10 agreed and were interviewed. Three themes common to all interviews were identified: functional measures of lung health that impacted on their activities of daily living; inhaler and medication perceptions with erratic use that was not concordant with their prescription; and the impact of difficulties accessing care.ConclusionThese findings, along with previous studies highlighting the prevalence of COPD in this population, warrant efforts to integrate community COPD and opioid replacement services to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174239532110003
Author(s):  
A Carole Gardener ◽  
Caroline Moore ◽  
Morag Farquhar ◽  
Gail Ewing ◽  
Efthalia Massou ◽  
...  

Objectives To understand how people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) disavow their support needs and the impact on care. Methods Two stage mixed-method design. Stage 1 involved sub-analyses of data from a mixed-method population-based longitudinal study exploring the needs of patients with advanced COPD. Using adapted criteria from mental health research, we identified 21 patients who disavowed their needs from the 235 patient cohort. Qualitative interview transcripts and self-report measures were analysed to compare these patients with the remaining cohort. In stage 2 focus groups (n = 2) with primary healthcare practitioners (n = 9) explored the implications of Stage 1 findings. Results Patients who disavowed their support needs described non-compliance with symptom management and avoidance of future care planning (qualitative data). Analysis of self-report measures of mental and physical health found this group reported fewer needs than the remaining sample yet wanted more GP contact. The link between risk factors and healthcare professional involvement present in the rest of the sample was missing for these patients. Focus group data suggested practitioners found these patients challenging. Discussion This study identified patients with COPD who disavow their support needs, but who also desire more GP contact. GPs report finding these patients challenging to engage.


2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 654-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen E. Holm ◽  
Melissa R. Plaufcan ◽  
Dee W. Ford ◽  
Robert A. Sandhaus ◽  
Matthew Strand ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (21-22) ◽  
pp. 3124-3137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Emme ◽  
Erik L Mortensen ◽  
Susan Rydahl-Hansen ◽  
Birte Østergaard ◽  
Anna Svarre Jakobsen ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-68
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav S. Lotkov ◽  
Anton Vladimirovich Glazistov ◽  
Antonina G. Baykova ◽  
Marina Yuryevna Vostroknutova ◽  
Natalia E. Lavrentieva

The formation and progression of chronic dust bronchitis and chronic bronchitis of toxic-chemical etiology, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is accompanied by an increase in the degree of ventilation disorders, echocardiographic signs of hypertrophy and dilatation of the right ventricle are formed, typical for chronic pulmonary heart disease. The progression of disturbances in the function of external respiration in dusty lung diseases leads to a decrease in myocardial contractility. The detection of hemodynamic disturbances at the early stages of the development of occupational lung diseases indicates the need for individual monitoring of the functional state of the cardiovascular system in the process of contact with industrial aerosols, especially in groups of workers with long-term exposure.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document