Table 1. Strategies applied for "Managing life with COPD".

Participants	The elders with COPD(n = 15)	Family caregivers (n = 4)	Healthcare providers(n = 5)
Main Categories	Striving to keep abreast of life	Help to stabilize the elder’s life	Preparing for battle with disease
Subcategories with related quotations	1.Information seeking I asked about what I can eat; should I follow a diet for my disease? The doctor told me ‘no, you can eat everything, you do not need any diet. (Participant 5, a 77-year-old woman) 2.Participation in care If they feel breathless, they could use the devices for initial treatment at home. … When experiencing breathlessness, I use oxygen, spray myself. (Participant 7, an 80-year-old woman) 3.Independence seeking I do all my own work. I do not need other people and I am not dependent. I am not bedridden and do not need my wife or kids to do things for me because of my disease. (Participant 1, a 70-year-old man) 4.Promotion of psychosocial capacities That is right; the disease has been bothering her for months, but I will do my best to make her well, to live with her happily like in the past. Well, we used to go to the park every morning before November; we did it to boost my mom’s morale. (Participant 6, a family caregiver) 5.Learning the life with COPD I live with shortness of breath nearly 11 years old. I know what make me bad opponent. When I get up, I use my drugs immediately. A lot of times I'm good; but if my opponent, I'll hospital. (Participant 3, a 86-year-old man)	1.Cooperation with professional team members Elders who have good family support get better answers than those who live alone; not a hundred percent, but it is less likely. In addition, an elderly who may not see or hear well does not have a good relationship with the outside world. (Participant 16, pulmonologist) 2.Support for the elderly I also seek to ensure the welfare by providing physical, emotional, and financial support for my mother. (Participant 6, a family caregiver) 3.Improve patient care skills When I saw my mother’s disease progress day by day, I followed up with the doctor. I know a lot about my mother’s disease, about drugs, respiratory aid devices. As the saying goes, I am an ‘expert.(Participant 12, a family caregiver)	1.Using effective training techniques Initially, during the first 15–20 minutes, we only check what they learned the previous time or whether they learned anything or no, and also examine if they perform activities correctly. Then, we ask questions to see how much they are learning. After ascertaining about their learning, we decide what to do for their physical therapy, because of their conscious fluctuations, one day they are sensible and the other day they are confused; this is why we have to teach their families, too. (Participant 18, a physiotherapist) 2.Accepting the role of the elder-family in treatment We are providing training on tobacco cessation, no exposure to very cold or hot environments, no disposal of stimulants, [and] drug use, and they cooperate with us. We talk about tobacco cessation, no exposure to very cold or hot environments, no disposal of stimulants, drug use, etc. They are cooperating with us. (Participant 16, pulmonologist) 3.Development of knowledge and professional skills There are two physiotherapists in the hospital, but they are responsible for the ‘whole hospital, like’ or ‘there is staff shortage', but they try to work with all patients. (Participant 15, head nurse)