Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Research Paper

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Carrie "Shellie" Cobbs
University of Phoenix
Introduction to Health and Disease
HCS 245
Mark Greeder
February 16, 2013

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, is a trending disease that is a common lung disease. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD but being a smoker does not mean that you will get COPD. Chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma are obstructive diseases that impair breathing and cause symptoms related to COPD. After reviewing The RoSPA Occupational Safety & Health Journal there is an understanding of the regulations regarding employer’s responsibilities towards people that are still working and suffering with COPD. Employees diagnosed with COPD can still function at work and employers will need to make arraignments for these employees or risk fines.

Does the article make any claims about treatment of the disease?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is non-curable disease but the symptoms are treatable to help give the patient better activities of daily living.
The article reviewed gives medicines as a treatment for patients suffering COPD. “Medicines for COPD alleviate symptoms of breathlessness so that patients can participate more fully in daily life” (Tullet, 2010, p. 28). People with COPD can avoid strenuous activities, stop smoking, and use medicines to slow down the symptoms of COPD. Occupational exposure can also exacerbate the symptoms of COPD. People who work around chemicals, a variety of different dusts, and fumes need to decrease their exposure to these
irritants.
The earlier that detection and diagnosis is made the better the outcome for the patient to have a better quality of life. Symptoms of COPD do not occur at an early age therefore making detection difficult. Spirometry is testing that diagnoses COPD by measuring the amount of air that goes in and out of the lungs and the amount of time it takes the patient to do it. People over 40 years old who have a history of COPD symptoms like smoking, chronic cough or a smokers cough, shortness of breath, and productive coughs that produce phlegm are encouraged to get spirometry testing.
Does the article provide a national or global perspective about the disease?
The article reviewed gives a global perspective about COPD and the effects it has on both employers and employees. The article gives statistics from the United Kingdom about the number of people living with the symptoms of COPD without a diagnosis versus the amount of people that are diagnosed and are being treated. According to Sarah Tullet, “there are an estimated 3.7 million people with COPD in the UK, yet only 900,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease” (Tullet, 2010, p. 28). In the United Kingdom the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 protects employees diagnosed with COPD from losing their jobs and gives employers guidelines to making adjustments to an employees work environment. Employers can make adjustment to shift hours, job description adjustments, and work load adjustments to help ease the stresses on the employee so that they may continue to work.
Conclusion
In conclusion, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a non-curable disease. It is manageable with early diagnoses and treatment with medicines to help control the symptoms. Symptoms include a chronic productive cough that produces phlegm and shortness of breath. Smoking, exposure to smoke, environmental irritants such as vapors, fumes, and dusts can cause flare-ups that increase the symptoms of COPD. Spirometry testing measures the volume of air going in and out of the lungs. This testing should be done on people that are 40 years or older and have COPD symptoms for early detection so treatment can begin. Early treatment allows people to have a better quality of life and to continue normal activities for a longer period. Employers have to follow government regulations to allow employees affected with COPD a comfortable work environment. Reduced and amended work schedules, lightened workload, change of work environment are all ways employers can help people who have COPD continue to work and to be comfortable while working. Instead of ignoring the symptoms of COPD people should seek treatment so that they can enjoy a better longer life.References
Tullet, S. (2010, June 2010). COPD. The RoSPA Occupational Safety & Health Journal, 27-30. Retrieved from http://av4kc7fg4g.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=COPD&rft.jtitle=The+RoSPA+Occupational+Safety+%26+Health+Journal&rft.au=Tullet%2C+Sarah&rft.date=2010-06-01&rft.pub=RoSPA+Occuapational+Safety+Division+%28UK%29&rft.issn=1474-7952&rft.volume=40&rft.issue=6&rft.spage=27&rft.externalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=235822882