Promoting quality of life for patients with moderate to severe COPD.
Understanding key components of good practice in the management of moderate and severe COPD is important for nurses working in the community. This article reviews the available evidence, which highlights the importance of smoking cessation, allowing breathless patients time to express themselves, encouraging exercise and timely palliative care. Additionally, evidence suggests that hospital-at-home can provide a safe alternative to hospital care and is the preference of some. However, more research is needed to provide evidence regarding the most effective smoking cessation programmes.
Tinker
Ros
R
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London. rosalyn.tinker@kcl.ac.uk
While
Alison
A
D019985:Benchmarking; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D003142:Communication; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010166:Palliative Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016540:Smoking Cessation