Abstract: Objective: To explore the effects of a family-based intervention on self-management of stable patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Methods: Patients with COPD in the Respiratory Department of Hefei First People's Hospital from December 2017 to June 2018 were selected and randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group using the table of random digit. Routine care was given to the patients in the control group. Besides routine care, family members of the patients in the experimental group were invited to join in the rehabilitation plan and follow-up visits after discharge. The outcomes we evaluated included 6-Minute Walking Distance (6MWD), dyspnea score (manufacturing Management Research Center, mMRC) and subjective fatigue scale (Borg), quality of life (CAT questionnaire), and daily self-care ability score (ADL). Results: For patients in the experimental group, the 6MWD [(332.64±40.53) m vs (350.72±48.88) m], mMRC [(2.33±0.86) vs (1.14±0.83)], Brog [(2.42±1.03) vs (1.19±1.17)], CAT [(20.17±4.29) vs (16.27±4.87)] and ADL [(87.50±10.99) vs (94.31±7.19)] were all significantly improved before discharge and 6 months after discharge (P<0.05). The similar effects were also observed in the control group with 6MWD [(331.36±60.94) m vs (340.86±72.59) m], mMRC [(2.47±0.91) vs (1.94±1.04)], Brog [(2.72±0.95) vs (2.32±1.12)], CAT [(19.94±3.16) vs (17.39±4.05)] and ADL [(80.56 ±16.25) vs (83.47±16.68)] all improved before discharge and 6 months after discharge (P<0.05). The 6MWD [(18.06±15.96) m vs (9.50±18.52) m], mMRC [(1.19±0.58) vs -(0.53±0.61)], Brog [(2.72±0.95) vs -(0.40±0.68)], CAT [-(3.89±2.73) vs -(2.56±1.80)], and ADL [(6.81±7.67) vs (2.92±6.02)] between the two groups were significantly different with better outcomes found in the experimental group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The family-based intervention can effectively improve the self-management ability of patients with COPD, improve the degree of dyspnea, improve their self-care abilities, and enhance their endurance of activity.

Key words: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; family as a unit; rehabilitation; self-management