Rehabilitation plays a central role in improving the health and wellbeing of patients with chronic respiratory and cardiac conditions. By improving long term health outcomes and potentially reducing hospital admissions, rehabilitation can help to reduce the huge social and economic burden of these long term conditions to the NHS.
Working with colleagues in partner organisations in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, researchers in the Rehabilitation Theme are looking at novel treatment and self-management strategies that can be put into practice in both primary and secondary care settings.
In the Rehabilitation Theme the main areas of investigation are:
A study to provide evidence to support the delivery of a structured education and self management programme for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
A study to determine the effects of a rehabilitation programme delivered immediately on hospitalisation for an acute exacerbation of COPD.
A qualitative study to measure the impact of a brief psychosocial intervention on anxiety and depression in patients with COPD.
Finally, cost effectiveness analyses will be conducted to evaluate the economic impact of the programmes; examining health care utilisation and the feasibility of adopting these models of care in practice.
