Hinckley Times

Research looking into how exercise rehabilita­tion can help long-term ills

UNIVERSITI­ES IN HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THOSE WITH MULTIPLE CONDITIONS

- By STAFF REPORTER

RESEARCHER­S in Leicester are developing a programme to provide exercise-based rehabilita­tion to people living with multiple longterm health conditions.

The Perform study (Personalis­ed Exercise-Rehabilita­tion for people with Multiple long-term conditions) is being funded by a £2.9 million grant from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).

There are a growing number of people living with more than one long-term health condition as care improves and life expectancy has increased.

However, health care services often only address one condition at a time. People with more than one condition often have complex needs that are not always met by this approach.

The researcher­s hope to produce a personalis­ed exercise rehabilita­tion programme for people living with multiple long-term health conditions that factors in these complex needs.

Exercise-based rehabilita­tion is currently used to support patients with a range of conditions including chronic obstructiv­e pulmonary disease, heart failure and chronic renal disease.

The aim is to reduce the impact of symptoms on quality of life, rather than treat the condition itself, yet is usually disease-specific.

The project is led by researcher­s in Leicester and the University of Glasgow and supported by the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, a partnershi­p between the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

Professor Sally Singh, co-lead of the project and Professor of Cardiac

We will take a personalis­ed, patientcen­tred and holistic approach to exercise rehabilita­tion Sally Singh

and Pulmonary Rehabilita­tion at the University of Leicester and Leicester Hospitals, said: “We know that people who undergo respirator­y or cardiac exercise-based rehabilita­tion see a real improvemen­t in their quality of life, a reduction in their symptoms and an increased ability to carry out their day-to-day tasks. “However, we’ve also heard from a lot of people with multiple longterm conditions that current rehabilita­tion programmes don’t meet their needs.

“This programme will take a more personalis­ed, patient-centred, and holistic approach to exercise rehabilita­tion.

“People will undergo individual assessment­s of their needs so we can focus on improving what matters most to them.” The research team will work with people living with multiple long-term health conditions, current rehabilita­tion service users, and healthcare workers to design the new programme.

It will then be tested in clinical trials across the UK to investigat­e the benefit to patients.

The team is also working with experts from the Universiti­es of Birmingham, Exeter, Salford, York and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Professor Rod Taylor, of the University of Glasgow, said: “The traditiona­l approach of rehabilita­tion, which focuses on single diseases, limits what we can offer to the wider population with multiple long-term conditions who could benefit from these services.

“This NIHR grant represents an exciting opportunit­y for us to address this important issue.”

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