Empowering nurses in digital-age care: Enhancing self-management education and perceptions of digital tools for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

<bold>Introduction:</bold> This study examines nurses' confidence and practice in delivering self-management education and explores nurses' perceptions of digital self-management programs for COPD patients. <bold>Methods:</bold> An online survey was conducted among nurses in Hong Kong. Linear regression analysis was conducted with adjustment for age, sex, work experience, speciality training and education level. <bold>Results:</bold> 156 Nurses strongly recognised the importance of patients self-managing their COPD (mean score 4.7/5). However, the practice of assessing patients' ability to manage their disease, confidence in conducting self-management education, and actual implementation of self-management education were only moderately rated. Nurses' attitude towards patient self-management was negatively associated with age but positively associated with work experience. Female nurses, those with more experience, and those with speciality training were more likely to provide self-management education. Speciality training was significantly associated with nurses' confidence in conducting self-management education and their practice of assessing patients' abilities. Over 80% of nurses believed digital interventions, like e-messaging and apps, could be feasible and useful in COPD management. The three most preferred app contents were inhaler use (64.7%), medication information (61.5%), and symptom management (60.3%). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Speciality training is crucial in enhancing nurses' confidence and expertise in providing self-management education to COPD patients. The valuable insights from nurses can guide the development of a digital intervention for COPD self-management.