Korean J Adult Nurs.  2011 Dec;23(6):595-604.

Effects of theNurse-led Discharge Education on Symptom Experience and Self-Care Compliance in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Cho EH
• Hwang SY

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to examine the effects of the nurse-led one-on-one discharge education on the levels of symptom experience and self-care compliance among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had not previously participated in an education or respiratory rehabilitation program.
METHODS
This study used a quasi-experimental pre-and post-test design with nonequivalent control group. Sixty seven hospitalized patients (34 for experimental and 33 for control groups) were recruited from in-patient units of a general hospital from August to November, 2010. The one-on-one education session of symptom management and daily self-care was administered to experimental group for 50 minutes along with a follow-up phone call. Self-administered questionnaire was administered at the pretest and at 1 month after discharge.
RESULTS
The subjects were 67.43(+/-10.24)years old in average. The mean differences of symptom experience (t=3.39, p=.001) and self-care compliance (t=-38.13, p<.001) in the experimental group was significantly higher than those of the control group.
CONCLUSION
Nurse-led one-on-one discharge education was effective in reducing the level of symptom experience and enhancing self-care compliance at home within one month after discharge. Therefore, this form of one-on-one education provided by nurses might be applicable effectively for COPD patients who do not have access to respiratory rehabilitation programs.

MeSH Terms

Compliance
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitals, General
Humans
Patient Compliance
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Self Care
Surveys and Questionnaires