Many lung diseases do not yet have a cure – most of these are long term and for most people, a good deal of self-discipline is needed to make sure that treatments are used properly. Many patients feel that they are not given appropriate training to help them get the most out of this “self-care”. New tools are desperately needed to provide patients with appropriate skills, information and knowledge to help them to get the maximum benefit from their treatments.
Professor Partridge has designed and tested picture-based action plans to help people with COPD and asthma to use their current treatments better. This included information on how to use their treatment properly, when to increase it, when to begin new treatment and when to seek urgent medical help. The research team also designed an electronic version of this action plan, which can be tailored for an individual patient, printed out and taken away to be used at home.
Further work is need to understand exactly what impact these action plans may have on people’s lives, but we hope that this work will pioneer a new way of helping people to use their treatments effectively and to lead a full and active life.
Relevant diseases: Asthma & COPD
Relevant age groups: Adults
Amount awarded: £13,959
Duration: 12 months
