Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by a progressive loss of pulmonary function. Often patients do not adhere to inhaled therapies and this leads clinicians to switch treatments in order to improve control of the symptoms. Narrative medicine is a useful approach that helps healthcare professionals to think over the doctor–patient relationship and how patients live with their disease. The aim of this training project was to teach pulmonologists the basics of narrative medicine: to carefully listen to patients and to practice reflective writing in their relationship with them.
This is a brief excerpt from the new publication of ISTUD Foundation regarding the project The words of breath 2016 and COPD, published in the peer-reviewed journal ERJ Open Search, entitled “Narrative medicine educational project to improve the care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease“.
The contribution was made by Antonietta Cappuccio, Alessandro Sanduzzi Zamparelli, Massimo Verga, Stefano Nardini, Alessandro Policreti, Pasquale Alberto Porpiglia, Silvia Napolitano, Maria Giulia Marini.
