Blinded to Their Own Daily Sufferings: The Lived Experience of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Addis Ababa.

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease continues to be an important contributor to morbidity, mortality, and health-care costs. In Ethiopia, the physical, financial, emotional, social, and religious life of patients living with the disease is under researched, information is crucial for physicians to develop treatment strategies and to assist government agencies in planning community support services. This study was conducted to understand the burden of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Ethiopia.
Methods: This was a qualitative research study which utilized a phenomenographic approach. In-depth interviews were conducted among 12 patients using a semi-structured open-ended interview guide. All audio-records were transcribed verbatim and translated to English for phenomenographic analysis using Atlas.ti version 8.0 software.
Results: The participants consisted of seven men and five women, whose ages ranged from 45 to 78 years. One male participant was a former smoker and one female participant had exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke. All 12 participants were unaware of their chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnosis despite experiencing chronic symptoms, such as cough and shortness of breath, and were unresponsive to treatment, which affected their physical, financial, emotional, social, and religious life. In addition, all participants attempted a variety of coping strategies to deal with their respiratory disease and many were optimistic about their future whilst living with the disease.
Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate an urgent need for improved awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, to decrease the burdens for those living with the disease and more judiciously, to utilize available resources in Ethiopia. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(4): 335-343]
Keywords: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, lived experience, qualitative research, Ethiopia