Illness perceptions in relation to self‐management behaviour among elderly patients with COPD: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of self‐management behaviour and illness perceptions and to examine illness perceptions in relation to self‐management behaviour in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted, and 152 elderly COPD patients were recruited via the convenience sampling method. The COPD Self‐Management Scale and the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire for COPD patients were used to examine self‐management behaviour and illness perceptions. Pearson correlation analysis, univariate analysis and hierarchical linear regression analysis were used to explore illness perceptions in relation to self‐management behaviour. Results The mean overall score for self‐management behaviour was 2.90 ± 0.39. Among the subscales of self‐management behaviour, information management had the lowest score of 2.20 ± 0.76. Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics, including educational level, smoking status, type of primary caregiver, home oxygen therapy and COPD duration, were found to be significant determinants of self‐management behaviour. After controlling for these variables, several illness perception subscales, including treatment control, personal control, coherence, timeline cyclical and identity, were significantly correlated with self‐management behaviour. Conclusions This study confirmed that elderly COPD patients' self‐management behaviour was unsatisfactory and that illness perceptions were significant determinants of self‐management behaviour. The findings may contribute to the development of self‐management interventions for elderly COPD patients.