The Relationship Between Learning Needs and Care Dependency in Individuals With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) significantly impacts an individual's daily life. Inhaled medications form the cornerstone of COPD treatment. To ensure the efficacy of these treatments, individuals must use their inhalers correctly. It is crucial for nurses to identify the learning needs of individuals with COPD and relate these needs to their level of care dependency, ultimately improving their quality of life.

This study aimed to assess the learning needs of individuals with COPD concerning inhaler drug use and to determine their level of care dependency.

The study population comprised 400 individuals diagnosed with COPD who were treated at a chest diseases hospital between May 2019 and December 2019. Data were collected through a patient information form designed by the researcher, an inhaler medication use skill assessment form, the Katz Activities of Daily Living Scale (ADLS), the Lawton and Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (LADL) the Care Dependency Scale (CDS), and the Patient Learning Needs Scale (PLNS). Data normality was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The independent samples t-test was employed for normally distributed data, while the Mann-Whitney U-test was used for non-normally distributed data. For comparisons between multiple groups, one-way ANOVA was used for normally distributed data and the Kruskal-Wallis test for non-normally distributed data. Dependent sample t-tests were utilised to analyse within-group changes in normally distributed variables. Pearson's correlation coefficient was employed to assess the relationships between normally distributed quantitative variables.

Of the study participants, 59.8% were male, 34% were in stage 2 of COPD, and 88.8% had been using inhaler medications since their diagnosis. The mean total score on the ADLS was 15.3 ± 3.6, while the mean total score on the LADL was 18.4 ± 5.2. The mean total CDS score was 67.5 ± 21.1, with a median of 79.5. The mean total importance and fulfilment scores on the PLNS were 187.1 ± 49.1 and 182.8 ± 51.7, respectively.

The study revealed that individuals with COPD have unmet learning needs concerning the correct use of inhaler medications. Additionally, it was found that care dependency levels were moderate, increasing with age, COPD stage, and improper inhaler use.