Impact of continuity of care on quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A quasi-experimental study
ISSN: 1476-9018
Article publication date: 6 September 2018
Issue publication date: 8 February 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) suffer many physical disabilities which cause many problems in their life. These patients really need to have continuity of care based on cooperation between patient, the family and their care givers in order to achieve an integration of care. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of continuous care on quality of life of patients with COPD.
Design/methodology/approach
A before–after quasi-experimental study was carried out with 72 patients with COPD at Beheshti educational hospital of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. The patients who met inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into an intervention group (n=36) and a control group (n=36). The patients completed the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire before and after their care. The intervention comprised continuous care with orientation and sensitization sessions (2 weeks), control and evaluation sessions (45 days) for intervention group and with routine care in the control group. Data were analyzed with SPSS, descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted to measure differences between intervention and control group.
Findings
Continuity of care improved significantly the quality of life of COPD patients in general, and in the symptoms, activity and impact domains (P=0.001). In contrast, routine care did not improve quality of life for patients in general, and in the symptoms, activity and impact domains (P=0.05).
Originality/value
Continuity of care has a positive impact on quality of life for COPD patients. Health care system should utilize continuity of care models as an overall plan for patients with COPD. Moreover, managers of health care system could reduce burden of chronic diseases by employing continuity of care models in planning patient care.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Compliance with ethical standards: author AB declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author AJ declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author MS declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author MA declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author FD declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author GR declares that he has no conflict of interest. This study was funded by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (Grant and Ethical Approval No. P/16/35/1/240). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
The authors would like to thank the vice-chancellor of education and the vice-chancellor of research and technology at the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, who approved and founded this study. The authors would also like to thanks all the staffs of the lung department of Beheshti Educational Hospital of Hamadan city who helped in conducting this study. This paper was a part of master’s thesis in medical surgical nursing, approved by Research and Ethical Committee of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences with “P/16/35/1/240 dated 30.06.2015.”
Citation
Bikmoradi, A., Jalalinasab, A., Salvati, M., Ahmadpanah, M., Divani, F. and Roshanaei, G. (2019), "Impact of continuity of care on quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A quasi-experimental study", Journal of Integrated Care, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 26-36. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-04-2018-0033
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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