More than 90% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries; however, few studies have examined the illness experiences of individuals living with and providing treatment for COPD in these settings. This study characterizes illness representations for COPD in Nakaseke, Uganda from the perspectives of health care providers, village health teams and community members (CMs) with COPD. We conducted 40 in-depth, semi-structured interviews (16 health care providers, 12 village health teams and 12 CMs, aged 25-80 years). Interviews were analyzed using inductive coding, and the Illness Representations Model guided our analysis. Stakeholder groups showed concordance in identifying causal mechanisms of COPD, but showed disagreement in reasons for care seeking behaviors and treatment preferences. CMs did not use a distinct label to differentiate COPD from other respiratory illnesses, and described both the physical and social consequences of COPD. Local representations can inform development of adapted educational and self-management tools for COPD.

中文翻译：

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慢性阻塞性肺病 (COPD) 的疾病表征，为乌干达农村地区的健康教育策略和研究设计学习提供信息。

超过 90% 的慢性阻塞性肺病 (COPD) 相关死亡发生在低收入和中等收入国家；然而，很少有研究调查在这些环境中患有慢性阻塞性肺病并为其提供治疗的个人的疾病经历。本研究从医疗保健提供者、村庄卫生团队和患有慢性阻塞性肺病的社区成员 (CM) 的角度描述了乌干达纳卡塞克慢性阻塞性肺病的疾病表征。我们进行了 40 次深度、半结构化访谈（16 名医疗保健提供者、12 名村卫生室和 12 名 CM，年龄在 25-80 岁之间）。使用归纳编码对访谈进行分析，疾病表征模型指导我们的分析。利益相关者团体在确定慢性阻塞性肺病的因果机制方面表现出一致，但在寻求护理行为和治疗偏好的原因方面表现出分歧。CM 没有使用独特的标签来区分 COPD 与其他呼吸系统疾病，并描述了 COPD 的身体和社会后果。当地代表可以为慢性阻塞性肺病适应性教育和自我管理工具的开发提供信息。