Determining the effect of implementing an educational package on quality of life among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease referring to teaching hospitals affiliated with Ilam University of Medical Sciences in 2016

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, pulmonary diseases have become one of the most important causes of mortality in the world. In this regard, the present study was aimed at examining the effect of implementing an educational package on quality of life (QoL) among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) referring to teaching hospitals affiliated with Ilam University of Medical Sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was an interventional clinical trial in which the participants were randomly assigned into an intervention group and a control group. The statistical population included all COPD patients who had referred to the teaching hospitals affiliated with Ilam University of Medical Sciences. Sixty patients were selected by a convenience sampling method out of the whole patients who had referred to Shahid Mostafa Khomeini Hospital in Ilam. Afterward, they were randomly assigned into an intervention group and a control group (each including 30 patients). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics; Chi-square test, independent and paired samples t-test, and correlational tests at a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: The results of the present study showed that as a result of the educational package, the intervention patients had a significantly higher QoL than the control patients (P = 0.001). The results also showed that implementing the educational package had a significant effect on QoL among the intervention patients in dimensions of physical function, mental health, social status, playing physical role, playing emotional role, physical pains, general health, and energy and vitality (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that collaborative education is a significant issue in health and treatment, and different dimensions of QoL can be enhanced by an appropriate educational program.