Making it count-identifying how healthcare professionals’ contributions to COPD management can be impactful on the burden faced by people with COPD.

<bold>Introduction/Aims:</bold> COPD can be a burdensome condition, impacting on individuals’ ability to breathe, day-to-day activities, work and social lives. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are tasked with helping patients manage COPD to reduce this burden and traditionally have done so by implementing COPD care guidelines in their management. This study <bold>aims:</bold> to qualitatively explore the experiences of people with COPD and the role that their HCPs played in its management and identify factors that impacted on COPD-related burden. <bold>Methods:</bold> People with COPD were invited to participate in a qualitative semi-structured interview. People were recruited from the research volunteer database<bold>,</bold> community pharmacy and specialists’ rooms. Interviews were conducted via telephone, teleconference or face-to-face. Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. <bold>Results:</bold> Twenty-five participants completed the study, reporting COPD's impact on social, work, and personal lives. Each expressed individual burdens, like job loss or strain on relationships, often discussed with their HCP. However, they feel that non-clinical aspects are overlooked. When HCPs address these in treatment decisions, participants report reduced burden and better COPD management. Those who haven't discussed their experiences indicated that they would like to do so because they recognise a potential benefit. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> HCP can be most impactful in helping people with COPD manage their burdens by taking time to understand their individual and unique experiences and personal burdens and targeting their interventions to issues that are of most concern to their patients.