Living with and understanding COPD: A review of individual perspectives

TL;DRAbstract

People living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience breathlessness, physical and psychosocial consequences of their illness on a daily basis. In addition to these burdens, people with COPD often struggle to understand their diagnosis and prognosis as well as the causes of this disease. An important part of the management of COPD is participation in pulmonary rehabilitation. While the positive objective outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation are well documented, less well known is how participation in pulmonary rehabilitation can impact on the experience of living with COPD. The social environment and interactions which occur with both peers and health professionals during pulmonary rehabilitation have been identified by those with COPD as particularly important. This article is a narrative review of the Australian and international literature related to living with and understanding COPD. It aims to provide clinicians with further insight into the experiences of pe

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