Health Coaching, Self-Management, Empowerment and Advocacy for COPD

Running head: NURSING CARE FOR COPD
Nursing Care for COPD
Name of the student:
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1NURSING CARE FOR COPD
Table of Contents
Introduction: 2
Nursing intervention for COPD: 5
Health coaching, self-management, empowerment and advocacy: 10
Collaboration by registered nurse: 11
Conclusion: 12
References: 13

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Introduction:
The health care industry has advanced considerably in the past few decades and what used to
be an incurable morbidity, taking hundreds of lives; now there are different treatment options for
it. However, it also needs to be considered that despite all the technological revolution in the
health care industry, there still is a number of emerging public health concerns that mortality
rates are increasing rapidly (Lisspers et al., 2014). One of the most common of these health
priorities can be considered the chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder that targets more than
34% of the global population and this particular health disorder contributes to a large proportion
of mortality to the health care sector.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or COPD is a respiratory disease which can be
characterized by the blocked respiratory airways, shortness of breath and excessive sputum or
cough production. The patient suffering with COPD can be cared for optimally if a
multidisciplinary team having different experts belonging to different care sectors; ho can
address differential care needs of the patient. This assignment will attempt to evaluate all aspects
associated with caring for a patient suffering with COPD taking the help of a case study.
Interrelationship of complexity, chronicity and co-morbidity in healthcare
COPD is the chronic illness and is associated with various comorbidities such as diabetes
mellitus, cardiac disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, muscle weakness and other psychological
disorders (Mellado et al., 2016). Chronicity of the illness refers to the condition that is difficult to
be cured. Comorbidities are the medical condition that are associated and occur together with the
main illness. These comorbidities add to the complexity of the chronic disease. COPD is the

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complex disease, as the patient had to cope up with various other comorbidities, which increases
the length of the hospital study and exacerbation of COPD symptoms (Donner et al., 2017).
Therefore, it mandates the need of more than one drug to fight the comorbidities along with
COPD. Risk factors such as smoking, medication interaction, aging and lack of treatment of
comorbidities add to the complexity of the comorbidities and outcomes in the patients with
COPD. The complexity of the presentation of the symptoms makes it challenging for the
clinicians to mage the chronic disease (De Lucas-Ramos et al., 2017). Thus, the complexity,
chronicity and the comorbidity is interrelated in the health care and this concept must be clear to
the health care providers to rightly handle the upcoming challenges.
In the given study, Angela (COPD patient) was presented to her GP with increasing shortness
of breath, increased sputum production, which has changed to dark yellow with green staining.
Her condition is worsening daily. She is feeling unwell since several days. Her SaO2 is 84% on
room air, temperature 38.4 C, She is significantly dyspnoeic, struggling to say more than 5 words
without a breath. Her pulse is 104bpm and her BP remains elevated at 162/102mmHg. Due to
inadequate intake of the medication, her symptoms have exacerbated. Consequently, she had to
increase her antibiotics, nebulisers and oxygen therapy to maintain SpO2 above 92%. Due to
hospitalisation, her mental well-being is affected. She is more upset due to burden of illness,
inconvenience caused to her family, and at unable to care for daughters. Thus, chronic illness and
associated comorbidities makes treatment more complex that ultimately affected both the
physical and mental wellbeing.
Pathophysiology of COPD
COPD is characterised by airway inflammation, structural changes in the airway and
mucociliary dysfunction. As a consequent of exposure to the inhaled irritants such as polluted