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Dyspnea self-management in African Americans with chronic lung disease
1School of Nursing, University of California at Los Angeles, CA 90095-6917, USA.
Purpose:
To explore dyspnea self-management in African Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or chronic restrictive pulmonary disease resulting from sarcoidosis.
Design:
Descriptive.
Sample:
Convenience sample of 29 African Americans, 15 with COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity = 53%), and 14 with sarcoidosis (forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity = 88%; total lung capacity 62.4% of predicted).
Methods:
Semistructured interviews.
Findings:
Content analysis revealed 4 dyspnea self-management themes: (1) traditional medical care, (2) self-care wisdom, (3) self-care action, and (4) self-care resources. Breathing strategies (a subtheme for self-care action) for patients with COPD focused on both inhalation and exhalation, whereas patients with sarcoidosis described inhalation breathing strategies only.
Conclusion:
African Americans with chronic lung disease described use of different breathing strategies for COPD and sarcoidosis disorders. Both groups actively engaged in health-promoting activities for dyspnea management.