EDUCATION IN SELF-CARE CONCERNING CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ELISABETH NILSSON Nilsson, E. Education in self-care concerning chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. M. A. Degree Project, 15 Credit Points, Advanced level. Malmö University: Health and Society, Department of Nursing, 2008. In Sweden there are over 700 000 persons suffering from COPD. This disease has often a long-term course with extensive influence on daily life. The aim of this literature review was to study self-care education in out-patients with COPD and the effects of the education on their daily life.The method used was a systematic literature examination reviewing pertinent research in the area. Orem’s theory about self-care was used as theoretical frame. Articles dealing with self-care education were evaluated regarding scientific quality. Ten randomized controlled trials were finally included. The results showed that education based on a self-care program combined with action-planning and training sessions, was the intervention that had the best effects. A decrease in visits to emergency rooms, hospital admissions and days in the hospital could be demonstrated as a result of the self-care education. The results also showed an insignificant trend towards increases in quality of life. The intervention had no effect on lung function, physical functioning, symptom experiences or number of exacerbations. Patient centred teaching about refraining from smoking doubled the number of individuals who stopped smoking, while counselling about quitting to smoke did not have any effect. Education constructed after the cognitive theory of Bandura, had effects on the self-efficacy to perform self-care. This study has shown that education about self-care is an area that needs more research. Key words: actionplan, Bandura, COPD, Orem, patient-education, self-care, self-efficacy, self-management, smoking-cessation.