Patient education working group
On April 13th EFA Patient Education working group held a webmeeting to discuss the plans of the year, the agenda of the physical meeting in Florence in May and the disaggregated results of the 2016 patient education survey. The survey shows important differences in the evaluation of patient education materials and levels EFA members have by disease. For example, EFA Members consider that food allergy patients know more about their disease than COPD patients. The survey analysis also shows there is a cleavage in patient education levels between the north and the south of Europe, being Scandinavia an area where patients have access to more education and materials helping them know and manage their disease. In the next Patient Education meeting in Florence, working group members will discuss how to exploit these results further.
COPD working group
COPD patients are at the centre of EFA brand new project COPD MOVE. Their stories and experiences are inspiring other patients in engaging in regular physical exercises.
Following the first two videos published, EFA COPD working group met on April 10th to discuss the first results and to see if these are in line with their expectations. The first reactions were very positive and all attendees see the potential of the project to motivate a change in people’s behaviour. Michael Wilken, who was interviewed for the second video of the series, considered it as great experience and hoped that many patients will join the project soon.
In addition, the working group spoke about the upcoming EFA Networking Day in Florence and identified the topics that should be discussed during the day, such as comorbidities in COPD, smoking cessation programmes, and inhalation techniques. In that occasion, the Working Group will also develop ideas for new EFA’s initiatives and projects in COPD.