The Effects of Health Education Given by Nurses to COPD Patients on the Daily Oxygen Concentrator Usage Time

Abstract

Introduction: Long-term oxygen therapy is the most effective method which has been shown to prolong the lifespan in people with COPD. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of health education given by nurses to patients with COPD on the daily oxygen concentrator (OC) usage time. Material and methods:The study was carried out in a State Hospital, Turkey, between July and November 2015. After given consent to the study, participants were divided into intervention and control groups by simple random sampling method. Then data forms were filled during face-to-face interview. Firstly, the data describing patients' arrival times were collected retrospectively. Afterwards, the patients from the intervention group were educated through educational booklets prepared by the researchers. They were phoned in the weeks 4, 8 and 12 th for problems they might have encountered during the use of OC. After the 14 th week, data forms of patients from the both groups were filled again; the results were compared with previous clinical findings. Data were analysed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. Results: It was determined that 95.5% of patients did not get information about the use of OC. Daily OC usage time (hour) by patients in the intervention group firstly amounted to 5.69 ± 3.90, later on to 11.94 ± 4.73 (p < 0.05). Whereas when clinical findings concerning pre-and post educational periods were compared; a significant improvement in PaO 2 , PaCO 2 , FEV 1 and SaO 2 of patients in the intervention group (p<0.05) was shown, contrary to the control group. Conclusions: It may be recommended that patients receive continuous education and close monitoring of their results.

Nurse-Led Interventions in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Specifically, twenty studies [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] reported data on hospital nurse management with a specific care plan of pharmacological management to empower COPD patients, i.e., correctly performed inhalation therapy training, use of oxygen therapy, and physical exercise, which are typically given on post-discharge home visits.…”

“…Two studies [ 50 , 51 ] analyzed the collaboration between primary care nurses and hospital nurses at discharge time and the follow-up of COPD patients in the management of COPD disease, and four studies [ 15 , 16 , 52 , 53 ] analyzed inhalation drug training techniques given by specialized nurses with COPD patients.…”

“…The number of hospital admissions after the intervention was analyzed in seven studies [ 11 , 15 , 29 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 54 ] with 959 patients, after 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months: the hospitalizations tended to be lower in the intervention group than in the control group [standard mean difference −0.44 (95% CI −0.92, 0.04), p = 0.07; I 2 = 87%], although heterogeneity was high ( Figure 2 ).…”

<p>Assessment of COPD-Related Knowledge Among Internal Medicine Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study</p>

“…Collinsworth et al19 reported that the time to first all-cause and COPD-related readmission appeared shorter for patients receiving education. Dogan and Ovayolu et al20 found that the health education provided by nurses to COPD patients can significantly improve PaO 2 , PaCO 2 , FEV 1 and SaO 2 of patients in the education group. Nurses and physicians are primarily responsible for education and this has also been proved in patients’ perspective 7.…”

Post-discharge extended care contributes to the disease control of patients with COPD: a Chinese study

“…Furthermore, we found that extended care elevated the level of PaO 2 and reduced the level of PaCO 2 in COPD patients compared with usual care, suggesting that extended care not only can alleviate the physical and mental burden of patients but also directly improve blood gas levels of COPD patients. Previous study shows that the extended care is beneficial to ensure the patient compliance to lung function rehabilitation training, family oxygen therapy, drug therapy and breathing training, thus promoting the arterial oxygen pressure levels and decreasing the levels of PaCO 2 23…”