Beliefs about Regular Inhaled Therapy among Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Patients in Sibu Hospital

Abstract

Introduction:

The primary treatment goal of managing stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are a reduction of symptoms and future risk of exacerbation. Patients with Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale of <2 categorised as low symptoms of COPD while patients with exacerbation history of <2 times per year classified as a lower risk of exacerbation. The use of regular inhaled bronchodilators has shown to reduce symptoms and hospitalisation rate among patients with COPD. Patient’s belief is one of the factors affecting their treatment adherence.

Objectives:

This study aimed to investigate the belief of regular inhaled therapy in COPD patient and factors affecting such beliefs.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2019 to April 2019. We recruited stable COPD patients encountered in Outpatient pharmacy of Sibu Hospital for a faceto-face interview. We collected the respondent’s demographic data, history of hospitalisation and mMRC dyspnea scaled. Belief about Medicines Questionnaire- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (BMQ-COPD) scale adopted to measure the beliefs in term of concern or necessity towards regular inhaled therapy (Cronbach alpha: Necessity score: 0.8. Concern score: 0.75). Mean BMQ-COPD score for each parameter was analysed using independent t-test.

Results and Discussions:

Fifty respondents participated in the study. The mean BMQ-COPD necessity score was significantly higher in the group with exacerbation < 2 times per year (16.89 vs 14.48, P=0.03) and in the group with mMRC <2 (18.6 vs 15.2, P=0.013). Patients using inhaler ≥five years have a higher concern score (P=0.027). Other factors such as ethnic, age and education level did not show significant association with patient’s belief.

Conclusion:

Prescribers and pharmacists should assess the patient’s concern on regular inhaled therapy if they have used regular inhaled therapy for more than five years.