Nursing clinical practice changes to improve self-management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

To propose nursing clinical practice changes to improve the development of patient self-management.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the main causes of chronic morbidity, loss of quality of life and high mortality rates.

Control of the disease's progression, the preservation of autonomy in self-care and maintenance of quality of life are extremely challenging for patients to execute in their daily living. However, there is still little evidence to support nursing clinical practice changes to improve the development of self-management.

A participatory action research study was performed in a medicine inpatient department and the outpatient unit of a Portuguese hospital. The sample comprised 52 nurses and 99 patients. For data collection, we used interviews, participant observation and content analysis.

The main elements of nursing clinical practice that were identified as a focus for improvement measures were the healthcare model, the organization of healthcare and the documentation of a support decision-making process. The specific guidelines, the provision of material to support decision-making and the optimization of information sharing between professionals positively influenced the change process. This change improved the development of self-management skills related to the awareness of the need for 'change', hope, involvement, knowledge and abilities.

The implemented changes have improved health-related behaviours and clinical outcomes.

To support self-management development skills, an effective nursing clinical practice change is needed. This study has demonstrated the relevance of a portfolio of techniques and tools to help patients adopt healthy behaviours.

The involvement and participation of nurses and patients in the conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of policy change are fundamental issues to improve the quality of nursing care and clinical outcomes.