TY - JOUR
T1 - How people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease perceive their illness
T2 - A qualitative study between mind and body
AU - Pozzar, Marta
AU - Volpato, Eleonora
AU - Valota, Chiara
AU - Pagnini, Francesco
AU - Banfi, Paolo Innocente
PY - 2020/5/4
Y1 - 2020/5/4
N2 - Background: Although many studies on people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have examined the mutual impact of physical status and emotional experience, there is limited knowledge about the way COPD people first-hand perceive their condition. This study was designed to investigate the illness perceptions of the patients and, secondarily, to explore their beliefs about the mind-body relationship. Methods: This qualitative study has exploited an ad-hoc semi-structured interview to collect personal perspectives of participants on their illness. Twenty-seven patients (15 males and 12 females), with a mild to severe COPD, were recruited within the Respiratory Rehabilitation Unit of Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, in Milan. The thematic analysis of the interviews' content was facilitated by NVivo (12th version, QSR International®). Results: The thematic analysis of the corpus resulted in four master themes. Illness experience has been considered the primary one. Indeed, dealing with COPD every day allows these people to portray a specific representation of the mind-body relationship, to gain a certain degree of expertise and to develop a perspective on the future. Conclusions: Individual perceptions of the illness vary among people with COPD, but some common experiences characterize them. Many patients share a profound belief that their mental state and their physical symptoms are highly interrelated.
AB - Background: Although many studies on people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have examined the mutual impact of physical status and emotional experience, there is limited knowledge about the way COPD people first-hand perceive their condition. This study was designed to investigate the illness perceptions of the patients and, secondarily, to explore their beliefs about the mind-body relationship. Methods: This qualitative study has exploited an ad-hoc semi-structured interview to collect personal perspectives of participants on their illness. Twenty-seven patients (15 males and 12 females), with a mild to severe COPD, were recruited within the Respiratory Rehabilitation Unit of Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, in Milan. The thematic analysis of the interviews' content was facilitated by NVivo (12th version, QSR International®). Results: The thematic analysis of the corpus resulted in four master themes. Illness experience has been considered the primary one. Indeed, dealing with COPD every day allows these people to portray a specific representation of the mind-body relationship, to gain a certain degree of expertise and to develop a perspective on the future. Conclusions: Individual perceptions of the illness vary among people with COPD, but some common experiences characterize them. Many patients share a profound belief that their mental state and their physical symptoms are highly interrelated.
KW - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
KW - Illness perception
KW - Mind/body connection
KW - Patient's experience
KW - Qualitative research
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U2 - 10.1186/s12890-020-1157-3
DO - 10.1186/s12890-020-1157-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 32366300
AN - SCOPUS:85084277042
VL - 20
JO - BMC Pulmonary Medicine
JF - BMC Pulmonary Medicine
SN - 1471-2466
IS - 1
M1 - 120
ER -