Nursing challenges in caring for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the next normal

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the leading cause of death among the world's population. It has an increasing impact on the economic and social systems. According to the challenges faced after the COVID-19 pandemic during the past period, the outbreak of this disease has greatly affected the health care system of patients with COPD; such as in the areas of health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, and disease control; which impact access to the health service system and decrease the patient's self-management behaviors.

   An important role of nurses in caring for patients with COPD is to promote self-management behaviors, such as providing advice in relation to environment, food and nutrition, pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise, stress management, and promote appropriate use of medicines; through giving knowledge, teaching self-management skills, and building self-efficacy for patients in performing those activities.

For nurses, it is a huge challenge to adjust the nursing style and role to suit the situational context of the next normal era, especially the role of promotion and prevention, to be appropriate and consistent with the health service model as well as current lifestyle of patients with COPD. The goals include enable patients to control their own illness, prevent complications, reduce disease severity, and maintain good health and quality of life.