FRESH AIR international research programme
Collaborating internationally to address the problem of lung disease
The University of Plymouth is leading on several projects within the FRESH AIR programme including the pulmonary rehabilitation projects in remote settings, starting in mountain villages in Crete with aims to progress to remote high altitude nomadic communities in Kyrgyz Republic and rural communities in Vietnam.
There is also a project evaluating an education programme for midwives in rural Uganda to deliver improving pregnancy outcomes and child health in the first six months of life. The project teaches people about the dangers of biomass smoke from cooking fires, from kerosene lamps and other sources, including tobacco smoking.
Dr Rupert Jones is leading a team of Plymouth researchers within an international collaboration in a range of studies addressing the problem of chronic lung disease in resource-poor settings.
Who is involved?
The University of Plymouth, UK
- Rupert Jones (PUPSMD)
- Sanne van Kampen (PUPSMD)
- Jill Pooler (PUPSMD)
- Lucy Cartwright (PUPSMD)
- Andy Barton (Research Design Service)
- Lynne Callaghan (PUPSMD)
- Michael Hyland (School of Psychology)
Makerere University, Uganda
- Dr Bruce Kirenga and team
University of Groningen, Holland
- Dr Frederik van Gemert
- Prof Niels Chavannes
The Breathe Again Africa Project
A crowd-funded project to build a pulmonary rehabilitation centre in Kampala to treat people with chronic lung disease without using drugs.
With chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) now the third leading cause of death in the world, and a rising prevalence in Africa, now is the time to put the research into pulmonary rehabilitation into practice.
Find out more about the Project and how you can support a life-giving programme today.
Project videos
“I was feeling weak all the time. I couldn’t sleep, I could do nothing at home…I didn’t know what to do. As I went through the programme, I realised that it was a real medicine to my health…I feel strong, stronger than before…I can now stay longer at the place of work. I am so happy and I appreciate the directors of this programme.” – patient's account
Find out more about the great work taking place and discover why we still need your help by watching our videos.
Posters
Conferences
Posters
These posters were presented at the European Respiratory Society Annual International Conference in London, 2016.
| Date | Conference name and country |
Title | P poster, O oral presentation, IL invited lecture, S seminar, TS teaching seminar, W workshop | Authors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23-24 May 2013 | IPCRG 3rd Scientific Meeting, Sweden | Prevalence of COPD in a rural area of a sub-Saharan country: FRESH AIR Uganda | O | FvG, BK, Niels Chavannes (NC), Moses Kamya (MK), Simon Luzige (SL), Patrick Musinguzi (PM), RJ, Ioanna Tsiligianni (IT), SW, Corina de Jong (CdJ), Thys van der Molen (TvdM) |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 21-24 May 2014 | IPCRG 7th World Conference, Athens | A PILOT STUDY OF PULMONARY REHABILITATION IN POST TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS IN UGANDA | O | RJ, BK, Richard Kasiita (RK), A. Okwera (AO), W. Worodria (WW), FvG, NC |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Jan-15 | "LUNGEREHABILITERINGSKONFERANSEN, Oslo " | Rehabilitation in primary care – criteria for success and failure | IL | RJ |
| Jan-15 | "LUNGEREHABILITERINGSKONFERANSEN, Oslo " | Why do we need quality indicators in pulmonary rehabilitation | W | RJ |
| Apr-15 | Primary Care Seminar, Plymouth University | Chronic respiratory disease in Africa: a neglected problem | TS | RJ |
| 28-30 May 2015 | IPCRG 4th Scientific Meeting, Singapore | An exploratory trial to test the impact of training midwives to deliver biomass smoke reduction on exposures, pregnancy outcome and infant health | O | RJ |
| Sep-15 | British Lung Foundation SW regional meeting | Research in COPD in UK and Africa | IL | RJ |
| Oct-15 | Global Health MSc, Plymouth University | Research and fundraising in Global Health | RJ | |
| Oct-15 | Global Health MSc, Plymouth University | Intercultural communication | RJ | |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Jan-16 | Junior Doctors respiratory training, Derriford Hospital | COPD in Africa | TS | RJ |
| 9-12 April 2016 | Pan African Thoracic Society, Kenya | The development and implementation of a Lung Health programme for rural Uganda addressing biomass and tobacco smoke | O | RJ, BK, FvG |
| 9-12 April 2016 | Pan African Thoracic Society, Kenya | Qualitative findings on the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation in Kampala | O | Jill Pooler (JP), RJ |
| 23-24 May 2016 | Tobacco Dependence Treatment Summit, USA | Training Community Health Workers in Rural Uganda to Introduce Stop Smoking Interventions in a Context of a Lung Health Awareness Campaign | P | Bruce Kirenga (BK), Rupert Jones (RJ) and Frederik van Gemert (FvG) |
| 25-28 May 2016 | IPCRG 8th World Conference, Amsterdam | Lessons from designing and implementing pulmonary rehabilitation in Kampala | RJ, JP, BK, Wincelas Katagira (WK) | |
| 25-28 May 2016 | IPCRG 8th World Conference, Amsterdam | Implementing Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Low Resource Settings | IL | RJ |
| 25-28 May 2016 | IPCRG 8th World Conference, Amsterdam | Rapid Assessment of the Demand and Supply of Tobacco Dependence Pharmacotherapy in Uganda | O | RJ, BK, Sian Williams (SW) |
| Jun-16 | Derriford Hospital Research Day | Silent killer on the rise – addressing the causes and treatment of lung disease in Africa | IL | RJ |
| 3-7 Sept 2016 | ERS, London, UK | A qualititative study on the development of a Pulmonary Rehabilitation for patients with chronic lung disease in Kampala, Uganda. | Poster accepted | JP, Herbert Muyinda (HM), Grace Nyakoojo (GN), BK, RJ |
| 3-7 Sept 2016 | ERS, London, UK | A development study of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with chronic lung disease in Uganda | Poster accepted | RJ, BK, JP, WK, RK, Doyo Gragn Enki (DGE), Siobhan Creanor (SC), Andrew Barton (AB), Sally Singh (SS) |
| 26-29 Oct 2016 | 47th Union World Conference on Lung Health, Liverpool, UK | The development of a lung health awareness-raising programme in Masindi province, Uganda | O | RJ, BK, FvG |
| 26-29 Oct 2016 | 47th Union World Conference on Lung Health, Liverpool, UK | A development study of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with chronic lung disease in Uganda | P | RJ, BK, JP, WK, RK, AB, SC, DGE, SS |
