Better Breathing Foundation (BBF), supported by the Waratah Foundation, is delighted to offer PhD scholarship funds for an evaluation of the usability and effectiveness of the mobile pulmonary rehabilitation (m-PR) platform in people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Congratulations to Sarah Brown from the University of Sydney, who will be undertaking this research. BBF has been working closely with Northern Sydney Local Health District, Lung Foundation Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the University of Sydney to design the first, Australian-specific mobile health platform for people with COPD. The mobile Pulmonary Rehabilitation (m-PR) platform allows participants to undertake a structured, eight-week pulmonary rehabilitation program at home with support from clinicians via a web-based platform. m-PR features include remote symptom monitoring, individualised exercise program supported by videos, self-management education videos supported with weekly notification messages, targeted goal setting, a medication action plan and weekly communication with a therapist.
Sarah stated, “I am very excited to be evaluating this digital health platform which should improve access to pulmonary rehabilitation for people with COPD by providing care in people’s homes and eliminating the need for travel to a centre-based program.”
BBF and the Waratah Foundation wish Sarah the best with the pursuit of her postgraduate research studies in 2021.
BBF is a not for profit organisation with the primary objective to support early career health research students to conduct high quality research on chronic lung diseases.