The Factors Predicting the Health-Related Quality of Life Among Persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Public Health Region 4, Thailand: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Background: Health-Related Quality Of Life (HRQOL) is an important consideration for persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This convergent parallel mixed-methods study aimed to examine the factors predicting HRQOL and to explore a comprehensive in-depth understanding of the factors associated with HRQOL in persons with COPD. Methods: For the quantitative arm, simple random sampling consisted of 240 persons with COPD in Public Health Region 4, Thailand and self-reported questionnaires were employed and analyzed by using SPSS version 22.0 software. For the qualitative arm, purposive sampling consisted of 30 participants that were interviewed and the transcripts analyzed using content analysis. Subsequently, a side-by-side joint display table was used to merge the data. Results: Social support was the strongest predictor of HRQOL, followed by nutritional status, pulmonary function, and functional performance with R2 = 0.801, p = 0.00. The participants perceived that social support can create encouragement, build convenience, and offer good recommendations. They also reported that the effects of COPD included poor nutritional status, deteriorating lung function, and activity limitations resulting in inadequate self-care in people living with COPD. Although age and gender were not found to be significant predictors of HRQOL, the participants perceived that differences in age and gender did not predict the prognosis of the disease. Conclusion: Four factors were seen to be significant predictors of HRQOL and potential explanations for the identification of the factors predicting HRQOL. Nurses and healthcare teams can modify the predicting factors and implement appropriate care leading to increased HRQOL in persons with COPD.

Health-related quality of life and its associated factors in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…In the current study, HRQOL was considerably impacted by the severity of COPD as determined by the new GOLD criteria, with patients in grade D exhibiting significantly worse HRQOL than those in lower severity grades. Similar results were reported in previous studies conducted in Thailand [ 70 , 71 ], India [ 13 , 15 , 48 ], Jordan [ 49 ], and Egypt [ 12 , 17 ]. Based on these findings, future efforts should concentrate on targeted actions and plans to improve HRQOL, especially for patients classified in grade D, as these people have significantly worse HRQOL than those with lower severity grades.…”

Application of Ferrans et al.'s conceptual model of health‐related quality of life: A systematic review

“…For example, in one study, reflexology (biological function) was found to significantly decrease dyspnea and fatigue severity (symptoms) and improve physical functioning (functional status) in breast cancer patients (Wyatt et al, 2012). Also, in various studies, biological function parameters had significant negative associations with general health perceptions in heart failure patients (Carlson et al, 2013;Lawson et al, 2018) as well as with overall QOL in patients with myocardial infarction (Kang et al, 2018), HIV/AIDS (Mohamed et al, 2017), and COPD (Wangsom et al, 2020).…”

“…For instance, patients undergoing haemodialysis who had a higher level of social support were found to experience less severe symptoms, more positive general health perceptions, and better HRQOL (Jung & Kim, 2020). Also, social support was directly associated with HRQOL in patients having HIV/AIDS (Alsayed et al, 2017), kidney disease (Hamilton et al, 2018), heart disease (Kang et al, 2018), and COPD (Wangsom et al, 2020). Moreover, HIV/AIDS patients who perceived greater HIV stigma reported worse depressive symptoms, more negative general health perceptions, and poorer HRQOL (Alsayed et al, 2017).…”

“…For example, better functional status was associated with more positive general health perceptions in patients with HIV/AIDS (Alsayed et al, 2017;Mohamed et al, 2017), heart failure (Carlson et al, 2013;Lawson et al, 2018), ESRD (Jung & Kim, 2020), and COPD (Peepratoom et al, 2020). Moreover, better functional status was significantly associated with better overall QOL in patients having acquired brain injury (Connell et al, 2018), solid cancer (Doubova et al, 2018), HIV/ AIDS (Mohamed et al, 2017), and COPD (Wangsom et al, 2020) and in healthy women (Spoelstra et al, 2010a).…”

Health-related quality of life in female patients with reumatoid arthritis: a structural equation model

“…Ferrans 등 [12]은 Wilson과 Cleary [13]가 설명하지 않은 개인적, 환경적 특성에 대해 이론적 근거를 제시하여 간호와 건강관리 영역에서 각 구성요소를 적용하기 위한 방안을 설명하고 있다. Ferrans 등 [12]의 건강관련 삶의 질 모형을 적용한 연구에서는 자궁암 [14], 당뇨병 [15], 만성 폐 쇄성 폐질환 [16]등을 다루며, 주로 만성질환자를 대상으로 한 연구 들이 있다. 이에 만성질환인 여성 류마티스 관절염 환자에게도 Ferrans 등 [12]의 건강관련 삶의 질 모형을 이론적 기틀로 적용하여 건 강관련 삶의 질에 미치는 영향을 설명할 수 있을 것이라 생각한다.…”