Self-management programs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: are they worthy?

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a smoking-related progressive disease with an increasing prevalence and socioeconomic burden worldwide. Educational programs are usually components of rehabilitative strategies. Current intervention is through educational programs designed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Among these programs, patient education on sustained smoking cessation was shown to be the only approach able to interfere with the natural history of this disease. The self-management model approach in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is similar to the interventions initially applied in asthma. Previous data suggested that educational intervention did not influence health-related quality of life but enabled patients to learn when to adequately self-administer oral steroid and antibiotic treatment. The evaluated study is aimed at assessing the impact of a self-management strategy on health-related quality of life and health resource utilization.

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• exacerbations
• healthcare utilization
• self-management