TY - JOUR
T1 - Breathlessness without borders
T2 - a call to action for global breathlessness research
AU - Clark, Joseph David
AU - Binnie, Kate
AU - Bond, Maddie
AU - Crooks, Michael
AU - Currow, David C.
AU - Curry, Jordan
AU - Elsey, Helen
AU - Habib, Monsur
AU - Hutchinson, Ann
AU - Soyiri, Ireneous
AU - Johnson, Miriam J.
AU - Nair, Shreya
AU - Rao, Seema
AU - Siqueira-Filha, Noemia
AU - Spathis, Anna
AU - Williams, Siân
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - It is likely that the burden of breathlessness in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is much higher than has been estimated using calculations of disease burden and expected prevalence of the symptom. However, most breathlessness research has been conducted in high-income countries and may not be relevant to LMICs. To address this issue, we convened an international breathlessness and global health workshop. Our multidisciplinary team of experts (global palliative care, respiratory medicine, epidemiology, palliative medicine, psychiatry, sport science, global public health and health economics) met at the University of Hull for a two-day workshop in May 2024. We had 8 presentations on key issues relevant to global breathlessness research. Our discussions focussed on unexplored questions and links between breathlessness and other health and social issues, in order to develop an agenda for global breathlessness research. Our discussions highlighted (1) the global burden of breathlessness generated by a range of lifestyle, environmental, disease and poverty-related factors, (2) the need for a global healthcare workforce that can address modifiable causes and the symptoms of breathlessness together using an integrated approach, (3) the value of information over clinical effectiveness when considering implementation of breathlessness self-management interventions, (4) Addressing non-clinical outcomes which are meaningful to individuals and families and (5) Developing a language for global breathlessness research which does not assume that the cause of breathlessness is diagnosed or treated. We present our discussions and recommendations for new approaches and paradigms for global breathlessness research to generate discussion—not to provide empirical evidence.
AB - It is likely that the burden of breathlessness in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is much higher than has been estimated using calculations of disease burden and expected prevalence of the symptom. However, most breathlessness research has been conducted in high-income countries and may not be relevant to LMICs. To address this issue, we convened an international breathlessness and global health workshop. Our multidisciplinary team of experts (global palliative care, respiratory medicine, epidemiology, palliative medicine, psychiatry, sport science, global public health and health economics) met at the University of Hull for a two-day workshop in May 2024. We had 8 presentations on key issues relevant to global breathlessness research. Our discussions focussed on unexplored questions and links between breathlessness and other health and social issues, in order to develop an agenda for global breathlessness research. Our discussions highlighted (1) the global burden of breathlessness generated by a range of lifestyle, environmental, disease and poverty-related factors, (2) the need for a global healthcare workforce that can address modifiable causes and the symptoms of breathlessness together using an integrated approach, (3) the value of information over clinical effectiveness when considering implementation of breathlessness self-management interventions, (4) Addressing non-clinical outcomes which are meaningful to individuals and families and (5) Developing a language for global breathlessness research which does not assume that the cause of breathlessness is diagnosed or treated. We present our discussions and recommendations for new approaches and paradigms for global breathlessness research to generate discussion—not to provide empirical evidence.
KW - breathlessness
KW - Low and middle income countries
KW - disease burden
KW - breathlessness research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205446735&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41533-024-00384-9
DO - 10.1038/s41533-024-00384-9
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 39349527
AN - SCOPUS:85205446735
SN - 2055-1010
VL - 34
JO - NPJ Primary Care Respiratory Medicine
JF - NPJ Primary Care Respiratory Medicine
IS - 1
M1 - 26
ER -