Determination of psychosocialproblems in chronic obstructive pulmonary patients (COPD)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD); It is a common, preventable and curable disease characterized by limitation of airflow and respiratory symptoms due to airways and / or alveolar abnormalities caused by serious exposure to harmful particles or gases in general. The genetic factor causing COPD is the deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin. The diagnosis of COPD is made by spirometry. The diagnostic criterion is that the postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC is below 70%. The research was conducted in a descriptive type to identify psychosocial problems in patients with COPD. The research universe consisted of 150 patients, who accepted the research and meeting the research criteria, diagnosed with COPD from April to June 2017 in the Chest Diseases Clinic and Outpatient Clinic of Düzce University Health Application and Research Center. 'Personal Information Form', 'COPD Evaluation Form' and 'Psychosocial Adaptation to Disease — Self Notification Scale' were used to collect data. The data was evaluated in the SPSS Statistics 23 package program. Normality assumptions of numerical variables were analyzed by Kolomogorov Smirnov test, the relationship between two independent numerical variables was interpreted by Spearman's Rho correlation coefficient, differences between two independent groups were examined by Mann Whitney U Test and differences between more than two independent groups were examined by Kruskal Wallis Analysis. According to the results of statistical analysis; the mean age of the patients participating in the study was 66.22 ± 10.49 years. 87.3% of the patients were male, 61.3% were primary school graduates and 80.7% were married. 30.7% of the patients had a disease duration of 1-5 years, 94% of them were using assistive devices and 51.3% had chronic diseases other than COPD. PAIS SR scores were significantly lower and psychosocial adjustment was better in patients with newly diagnosed COPD compared to those who had been living with the disease for a long time and married patients compared to the unmarried patients (p <0.05). PAIS SR scores are significantly higher than those who use the device and patients with low income levels compared to patients with high levels, and their psychosocial compatibility is poor (p<0.05). In addition, patients who have never been hospitalized in the last year have better psychosocial compliance, while those who need someone who cares for it are worse. In order to increase the psychosocial compliance of the patients, it is recommended to provide training and psychosocial counseling services to the patients from the moment they are diagnosed, to take control of the symptoms of COPD and to treat the diseases accompanying it with a multidisciplinary care. Key words: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), psychosocial adjustment, psychiatric nursing, congression liaison nursing, psychosocial care