Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2016 Aug 25:11:2001-7.
doi: 10.2147/COPD.S109227. eCollection 2016.

Illness perceptions and coping determine quality of life in COPD patients

Jitske Tiemensma  1 , Erin Gaab  2 , Maarten Voorhaar  3 , Guus Asijee  4 , Adrian A Kaptein  5
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Illness perceptions and coping determine quality of life in COPD patients

Jitske Tiemensma et al. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. .

Abstract

Background: A key goal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care is to improve patients' quality of life (QoL). For outcomes such as QoL, illness perceptions and coping are important determinants.

Aim: The primary aim was to assess the associations between illness perceptions, coping and QoL in COPD patients. A secondary aim was to compare illness perceptions and coping of patients with reference values derived from the literature.

Patients and methods: A total of 100 patients were included in the study. Patients were asked to complete the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), the Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence scale (UPCC), and a QoL item. Correlations and linear regression models were used to analyze the data. Student's t-tests were used to compare patients with COPD with reference values derived from the literature.

Results: Patients with better understanding of COPD utilized more proactive coping strategies (P=0.04). A more intense emotional response to COPD was related to less proactive coping (P=0.02). Patients who reported using more proactive coping techniques also reported to have a better QoL (P<0.01). Illness perceptions were also related to QoL: more positive illness perceptions were related to a better QoL (all P<0.05). Patients with COPD reported more negative illness perceptions than people with a common cold or patients with asthma (all P<0.01), but reported similar perceptions compared with patients with diabetes.

Conclusion: Patients with COPD reported a moderate QoL, but appeared to be proficient in proactive coping. Illness perceptions, coping, and QoL were all associated with each other. Patients reported more strongly affected illness perceptions compared to people with a cold and patients with asthma. We postulate that a self-management intervention targeting patients' illness perceptions leads to improved QoL.

Keywords: COPD; QoL; common sense model; coping; illness perceptions.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Kinsman RA, Yaroush RA, Fernandez E, Dirks JF, Schocket M, Fukuhara J. Symptoms and experiences in chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chest. 1983;83(5):755–761. - PubMed
    1. Weldam SWM, Lammers J-WJ, Decates RL, Schuurmans MJ. Daily activities and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: psychological determinants: a cross-sectional study. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2013;11:190. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weldam SWM, Lammers J-WJ, Heijmans MJWM, Schuurmans MJ. Perceived quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: a cross-sectional study in primary care on the role of illness perceptions. BMC Fam Pract. 2014;15:140. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vaske I, Kenn K, Keil DC, Rief W, Stenzel NM. Illness perceptions and coping with disease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: effects on health-related quality of life. J Health Psychol. 2016 Feb; doi: 10.1177/1359105316631197. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mewes R, Rief W, Kenn K, Ried J, Stenzel N. Psychological predictors for health-related quality of life and disability in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Psychol Health. 2016;31(4):470–486. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms