title: COPD and emotional distress: not always noticed and therefore untreated.
abstract: There are more than three million people in the UK living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Focus tends to be on the physical effects of the condition; however, many patients living with COPD develop mental health symptoms that could go unnoticed and therefore untreated. The community nurse's role includes the management of patients with complex long-term conditions, which may include mental health issues. However, training to support patients whose condition includes a mental health component has long been considered inadequate and may lead to under diagnosis. Compared with other patients with long-term conditions, patients with COPD recount worse psychological functioning and greater psychological distress. Health-care workers' lack of mental health knowledge may be a contributory factor to why only a small proportion of patients are diagnosed and receive effective treatment.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer in Primary Care, University of Greenwich, London, England.
authors.forename: Rona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dury
mesh_terms: D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000451:nursing*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000451:nursing*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: COPD; community nursing; emotional stress; long-term conditions; mental health