Relationships among hope, meaning in life, and post‐traumatic growth in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract Aim This study aimed to investigate the relationships among hope, meaning in life, and post‐traumatic growth (PTG) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Design A cross‐sectional study design. Methods Between October 2018–September 2019, 221 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patient completed the questionnaires including sociodemographic information, Chinese Version of Herth Hope Index, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and Post‐traumatic Growth Inventory. Descriptive analysis, Spearman's correlation analysis, the Kruskal–Wallis H test, the Mann–Whitney U test, and the ridge regression analysis were used for analysis. Results Spearman's correlation analysis showed that hope and meaning in life were positively interrelated with PTG ( r = 0.20–0.45, r = 0.36–0.54, p < 0.01). Ridge regression analysis results showed that hope, meaning in life, time since diagnosis, habitation, medical insurance, and monthly income could explain 47.30% of the variance in PTG ( F = 33.863, p < 0.001). Conclusion Chinese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease experienced a slightly positive change in meaning in life and a moderate degree of hope and PTG. Results suggested that hope and meaning in life were positively connected with PTG. Therefore, enhancing hope and meaning in life might be crucial for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to promote PTG. Impact The findings added better understanding of relationships among hope, meaning in life, and post‐traumatic growth in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which can help nurse give interventions in the early stage of disease diagnosis.