Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract OBJECTIVE AND AIM: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common
chronic diseases. The patient’s fear and anxiety of shortness of breath and coughing during exercise
may lead to a decrease in patients’ daily activities. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine
the effect of empowerment program based on the social cognitive theory (SCT) on the daily activity
of patients with COPD.
METHODS: This quasi‑experimental study was performed on 70 patients with COPD referred to
Kashani and Hajar centers in 2019. Samples were randomly divided into two groups of experimental
and control. Data collection tools included demographic information questionnaire and activity of daily
living questionnaire, specific for COPD, and a researcher‑made questionnaire for measuring SCT
constructs. For the experimental group, the training program consisted of four theoretical and practical
sessions of 40 min/week. The data were collected at three time points, before, immediately and 3
months after the training are 3 time. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive
and inferential statistics.
RESULTS: The difference between the mean scores of behavioral ability, self‑efficacy, and
empowerment in the three stages was significant only in the experimental group (P < 0.001). The
mean daily activity score of patients before, immediately, and 3 months after intervention showed
a statistically significant difference between the two groups (52.46 ± 21.98, 63.36 ± 21.95, and
71.34 ± 19.02), respectively, in the intervention group, and (51.79 ± 19.29, 53.70 ± 19.28, and
53.82 ± 19.26), respectively, in the control group (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that empowerment of patients through interventions
based on SCT can increase the daily activity of patients with COPD. Because nurses play an important
role in patient education and improvement, it is hoped that the findings of this study will be used as
a strategy to increase the daily activity and ultimately improve the quality of life in these patients.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of progressive lung
diseases; the most common are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It is considered to be the major
cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is considered to be one of the leading causes of deaths
in India, the main reason being misconception/misinterpretation of the disease and unawareness
about the risk factors which hinder early diagnosis and its treatment effectively. Therefore, the
present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and behavior about the disease process and
physiotherapy management in patients diagnosed with COPD.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethical clearance was obtained before initiating the study. It was
a cross‑sectional, qualitative study. In total, 14 patients of COPD were recruited for the study by
convenience sampling. The total study duration was 6 months. Two focused groups (n = 14) were
conducted with seven COPD patients (diagnosed by chest physician on the basis of pulmonary
function testing) in each after obtaining the written informed consent. Focus group contents were
video graphed after obtaining the consent and a focus group discussion (FGD) guide comprising
of 15 questions was used for the study. Transcripts were prepared from the audio/video recordings
and were analyzed qualitatively by narrative analysis.
RESULTS:  The narration transcripted during both the sessions of FGD showed significant
negligence about the disease process, its precipitating factors, preventive measures, and
physiotherapy management among the patients suffering from COPD in the community. None
of the patients were aware even about the term “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” and
only 35.71% of patients were aware of physiotherapy management as a mean of treatment for
COPD.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study concludes that there is a lack of knowledge, incorrect attitudes,
and flawed behavioral changes which needs to be corrected among the patients with COPD. These
patients require correct, detailed, and broad‑based information about their condition and availability
of treatment options.