Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effects of cognition and behaviors of caregivers on quality of life in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods Fifty-seven elderly patients with moderate COPD and their caregivers were surveyed. Caregiver questionnaire was designed to investigate the cognition and behaviors of caregivers, which concerned the cognition of disease and treatment, behavior of monitoring of medication and pulmonary rehabilitation, behavior of accompanying of examination and treatment, and behavior of encouragement of rehabilitation. St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire was adopted to investigate the quality of life of patients. Results Among the 57 caregivers, 5 (8.78%) knew nothing about COPD and treatment, 8 （14.04%） never monitored medication, 27 （47.37%） never monitored pulmonary rehabilitation, 12 （21.05%）never accompanied patients to take examinations and treatment, and 19 （33.33%） never encourage patient to attend pulmonary rehabilitation. The mean score of caregiver questionnaire was （6.81±3.47）, the mean score of quality of life was （46.30±20.10）, and there was significantly negative relationship between them （r=－0.49, P<0.01）. Conclusion There is much room for improvement for the cognition and behaviors of caregivers for elderly patients with COPD, and effective care may improve the quality of life of patients.

Key words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, caregivers, quality of life, elderly