Examination of drug compliance and self-efficacy levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary patients admitted to the emergency department

Objective: This descriptive study was conducted to examine drug adherence and self-efficacy levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary patients admitted to the emergency department. Method: The research was carried out with 235 patients diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) who applied to the Emergency Service of Health Sciences University Antalya Training and Research Hospital between January-October 2020. The data were collected by face-to-face interview method using Personal Information Form, Medication Adherence Report Scale, and COPD Self-Efficacy Scale. IBM SPSS 23.0 package program was used for statistical analysis of the data. The data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, Shapiro Wilks test, Kruskal Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, Bonferroni-Dunn test, Spearman correlation test. Results: It was found that the average age of the patients participating in the study was 69.4 ± 11.24 years (min: 32; max: 96), 69.4% were male, 48.5% were primary school graduates, 63.8% were married and 60.8% were retired. Patients' Medication Adherence Reporting Scale mean score was 22.85 ± 3.10 and the COPD Self-Efficacy Scale mean score was 1.65 ± 0.54 A statistically significant positive weak correlation was found between the patients' medication compliance and self-efficacy levels (p<0.05). It was found that the working status of the patients affected drug compliance negatively and living with spouse or children positively affected (p<0.05). It was found that the self-efficacy level of the patients was negatively affected by age, duration of COPD and the number of visits to the emergency department in the last year (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was found that the patients participating in the study had a good level of drug compliance and low self-efficacy levels, and the level of self-efficacy increased as drug compliance increased. It is recommended to plan appropriate nursing interventions to increase drug adherence and self-efficacy levels in patients with COPD.