Abstract
Background: An estimated 1.2 million people live in the UK with COPD. Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) has been identified as a beneficial group intervention for patients with COPD. There is a growing interest in alternative group interventions to add to the support provided by PR, including singing groups. The research into singing groups for patients with COPD suggests the patients find the group enjoyable and report it to be beneficial with regards to improving their COPD. However, quantitative objective measures do not support these findings and further research is needed to understand the difference between the qualitative and quantitative findings.
Aim: To understand the experiences of participants with COPD attending a singing group.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants who have been diagnosed with COPD, recruited from a singing group designed to support them with breathlessness. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was conducted on the data gathered from these interviews.
Results: This study identified five themes: blame and the restrictive impact of COPD, changes in self-efficacy and a sense of control over COPD, positive social connections within the group, positive emotional and cognitive changes during and after the group and the value of breathing techniques.
Conclusion: The participants reported stigma over their condition before the group and that COPD has a restrictive impact on their lives. Following attending the singing group, the participants experienced a change in their attitudes towards their condition, feeling a greater sense of confidence and control over their condition. The participants felt the factors involved in this change were the social connections both with their peers and the group leader, the positive emotional changes during and following the group and the impact of the breathing techniques they are taught. This study also provides suggestions for future research and a discussion of the clinical implications