Togetherness in Couples Living With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Interpretive Interview Study.

AIM: To explore how persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and partners experience illness-related changes in shared everyday life and intimacy, and how these changes affect well-being.

DESIGN

An interpretive phenomenological interview study.

METHODS

Individual, in-depth telephone interviews were conducted with persons with moderate to very severe COPD and partners recruited through a survey. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis informed by hermeneutic phenomenology.

RESULTS

Ten persons with COPD and five partners were included. One overarching theme was generated: Togetherness in light and darkness-transformation of couplehood when living with COPD, and three interrelated themes: (1) Living in sync and out of step-breathlessness slowed everyday life and limited shared activities and physical intimacy; (2) Holding on and holding back-togetherness was nurtured through emotional presence and challenged by protective restraint; (3) Becoming another we-meaning and continuity were sought amid loss, and shared identity was renewed or faded.

CONCLUSION

COPD transformed couplehood and intimacy, creating risks of disconnection while also opening possibilities for renewal and strengthened belonging. Breathlessness disrupted shared life, roles and identity; however, aligning pace and emotional presence fostered togetherness and well-being for both partners.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENT CARE: The findings may guide nurses to initiate and navigate conversations about how COPD affects shared activities, intimacy and emotional connection, thereby facilitating couple-centred care.

IMPACT: Relationship and intimacy changes in couples living with COPD remain largely overlooked. This study provides new insights into how breathlessness slows and reshapes shared everyday life, connection, and couple identity, highlighting aspects of well-being that may otherwise remain unaddressed in clinical encounters.

REPORTING METHOD: SRQR.

PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Preliminary interviews with six participants refined the study focus from sexual health toward changes in shared everyday life and intimacy, and informed study design.