Effects of transitional nursing on the quality of life in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of transitional nursing on the quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . Methods A total of 118 patients in the stable phase of COPD, who were discharged from the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University during March 2015 to June 2016 were selected by convenience sampling method and divided into observation group (n=60) and control group (n=58) according to the random number table. The patients in the control group were treated with routine nursing mode, while the patients in the observation group were given transitional care after discharged on the basis of routine nursing. The effects of the transitional care and patients' quality of life were evaluated with Care Transitions Measure (CTM) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test (CAT) at three time points, before intervention, three and six months after the intervention. Results There was no statistical difference in the score of CTM between the two groups before intervention (P>0.05) . After intervention for 3 and 6 months, the CTM score of the observation group patients were significantly higher than that of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P 0.05) . The CAT score of the patients in the observation group was lower than that in the control group after intervention for 6 months, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusions Transitional nursing mode can improve the cognition of patients in COPD stable phase, promote healthy lifestyle and behavior, and improve patients' quality of life. Key words: Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Quality of life; Stable phase; Transitional nursing