ArticleBJGP open2025
Exploring patients' and carers' experiences, understandings and expectations of COPD exacerbations:an interview study.
Article in BJGP open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- How People with COPD Perceive and Communicate Exacerbations: A Multicountry Survey Study.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations are clinically significant events that affect millions of people globally.
aimTo explore patients' and carers' experiences, understanding, and expectations of, as well as their responses to, exacerbations. DESIGN &
settingSemi-structured interviews conducted with patients who have COPD and their carers from four sites across England.
methodInterviews were conducted with a purposive sample of patients with COPD and their carers recruited from four sites in England: two in Yorkshire, one in Hampshire and one in London. Interviews were theoretically informed by the Breathing Space concept and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. This research is reported in line with the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research.
resultsForty patient participants were recruited: 21 were female, 28 were White, with a mean age 69 years (standard deviation [SD] = 8.1 years), mean COPD duration = 11.3 years (SD = 8.3 years), median exacerbations in past year = 1.5 (range 0-9). Seven carer participants were recruited; of these, six were female and six were White. Three themes were identified: the language that clinicians use in COPD is important; episodes of symptom worsening have profound impacts on patients and carers; and patients' early experiences, including the responses of clinicians to their help-seeking, have a lasting effect on their behaviour. How patients respond to symptom worsening can be considered holistically in the context of the Breathing Space framework. Breathlessness affected all patient participants and was a key symptom that precipitated action.
conclusionsOur findings show how early help-seeking experiences shape later behaviour. Early emphasis on symptom management, preparation for exacerbations, and post-exacerbation reviews are practical ways that clinicians can support patients and carers to manage these events better. The Breathing Space concept provides a useful framework to identify needs and tailor COPD management appropriately.
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Registered trials
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