Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of education on inhaler using skills of elderly patients with COPD.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This pre-test- post-test quasi-experimental study including a control group was conducted with 80 patients. The study was performed in a chest and occupational diseases hospital in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey between 01 January and 30 June 2011. Data were collected using a “Patient Information Form”, a “Skill Chart for Inhaler Device Use”. Official and ethical permissions were obtained from the relative institutions., and written informed consent was obtained from the patients. Descriptive statistical methods and chi-square test were used to evaluate the data.

RESULTS: It was found that inhaler using skills of the patients in the experimental group showed a greater improvement after education as compared pre-education values and those values in the control group.

CONCLUSION: It was concluded that education on inhaler usage techniques improved patients’ skills on using inhaler devices correctly in the experimental group.