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HappyAir conferences in pharmacies in Valencia

HappyAir conferences in pharmacies in Valencia

For the second consecutive year, the HappyAir Farmacias Conference was held in Valencia, to offer free face-to-face lung health evaluations to patients with COPD.

 

HappyAir Pharmacies is a community support program for respiratory patients, which promotes actions to promote, prevent and monitor lung health in the pharmaceutical environment, and offers free face-to-face evaluations carried out by physiotherapists specialized in respiratory health.

This initiative, promoted by the Lovexair Foundation, has the collaboration of Boehringer Ingelheim Spain and the support of APEPOC (Association of Patients with COPD).

At the Lovexair Foundation we believe that the role of the pharmacist is essential in the process of education and support of chronic patients, which is why we have come together to carry out this program. 

HappyAir Conference 2022

After the success of the HappyAir Farmacias Conference held during 2021, the Lovexair Foundation organized new "HappyAir Farmacias" Conference in Valencia during the month of May, in which people with #COPD accessed a face-to-face, comprehensive and free evaluation, with delivery of personalized report, by qualified health personnel.

Likewise, and as part of the activity, the participating pharmacies received exclusive training on COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), techniques for the correct use of inhalers, how to assess adherence to treatment of patients and access to digital health resources , run by the Lovexair Foundation, to accompany and guide patients in managing their health, well-being and active life.

HappyAir Conference Pharmacies in Valencia 2022 – YouTube

Alliance with CEU Cardenal Herrera University

This year, the HappyAir Conferences were held in collaboration with the team of the Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapy Service of the CE UniversityU, led by Dr. Francisco Ferrer, and a group of final-year interns.

This institutional collaboration allows students to be in contact with the respiratory community and carry out supervised internships, while patients can continue a free face-to-face follow-up in the service offered by CEU, and an online care and monitoring plan through the HappyAir ecosystem. All this completely free of charge.

 

COPD in figures

• It is the 4th leading cause of death in the world, and its prevalence is expected to increase in the coming decades due to continued exposure to risk factors and the aging of the population.
• In Spain it affects 11% of the population between 40 and 80 years of age, with an estimate of between 20-30.000 deaths per year.
• Tobacco is the main risk factor for COPD. There is no cure for this disease, but early diagnosis and treatment are important to control symptoms and reduce the risk of exacerbations.

 

Main complications detected in patients with COPD in Valencia

In total, a total of 45 evaluations were carried out on people with COPD, of which 18 were women and 27 men. The mean age of the participants was 70 years.

Although the activity was aimed at patients with COPD, 15 people without this diagnosis went to pharmacies seeking advice for their lung health problems, which represents 33% of the attendees, which denotes a high degree of need for attention and diagnosis in pulmonary health. 

Nearly 50% of participants reported having other respiratory complications, in addition to COPD, such as asthma, sleep apnea, pulmonary fibrosis, COVID-19, and bronchiectasis. This shows that respiratory diseases do not usually occur alone, it is common for other associated pathologies to appear. 

Regarding tobacco use, which is the main cause of COPD, it was observed that a high percentage of attendees continue to have or have had a relationship with it (36% are active smokers and 47% ex-smokers), only 18% of attendees reported not having never smoked, which confirms the high relationship between tobacco and respiratory diseases.

Of the 16 active smokers, 14 showed interest in quitting smoking, while 2 had not considered it.

Ten of the active smokers had a diagnosis of COPD and all of them were in the group interested in giving up this habit, having previously tried without success.

 

Impact of COPD on quality of life

In the interviews, a general survey was made and some specific tests were passed, such as, for example, the CAT questionnaire (COPD Assessment Test) to measure the impact that COPD has on their well-being and daily life. Through 8 questions, symptoms such as dyspnea, cough and expectoration are assessed; in addition to the limitations that this respiratory condition produces on the activities of daily life of the affected person and its influence on sleep.

From the global results, a low to medium impact was observed, which shows that COPD is the cause of some of its limitations and that there are few "good days" in the week for a person with this condition.

Also evaluated was the breathlessness or choking sensation, which is one of the main symptoms that make life more difficult for people with COPD. This measurement was made with the mMRC (modified Medical Research Council) test. In general, the result of this test indicates a "moderate" degree of dyspnea, which implies that these people are not able to keep up with other people in the same age walking on flat ground, or need to stop to rest when walking on this type of terrain.

It is important to emphasize that this symptom can appear very differently between patients, so it is essential to know its evolution for the diagnosis and monitoring of COPD.

 

On the other hand, to keep the symptoms under control and stop the evolution of the disease it is very important take the prescribed medication every day and in the prescribed doses, although there are times when there are no symptoms and we feel much better. To assess this situation with respect to treatment, the attendees answered the TAI 10 test (Test of Adherence to Inhalers), which measures adherence to taking medication. In this sense, the results showed that the 76% show good adherence, while 17% have intermediate adherence to taking the medication, and 7% have poor adherence.

As taking the inhaled medication is not easy at all, all attendees were invited to bring their inhaler to the pharmacy to check if they were using it correctly and clarify any pertinent doubts.

 

Physical activity in people with COPD

Physical exercise is one of the basic pillars of the treatment of any chronic respiratory disease. Therefore, this aspect was also included in the interview and the participants were asked if they exercised, what kind and how often. 

Two thirds of the interviewees assured that they carry out some type of weekly physical activity, being positive that more than half carry it out more than 3 days a week, even a majority do it more than 5 times a week.

As for the preferred types of physical activity, most choose "walking". Some also mentioned cycling, weights, yoga, pilates, and swimming. 

Among people who do not exercise regularly, they argued that they "can't because of their respiratory problem." 

Pioneers in education and citizen empowerment

In addition to carrying out this evaluation of their respiratory health, patients with COPD can access educational, digital and free resources through the Pioneers Program, to learn about this pathology and how to manage it properly to have a good quality of life. At the Lovexair Foundation we seek to provide online and offline resources to people with a chronic respiratory condition to empower them in self-care of their health and achieve greater well-being.

 

What does HappyAir Farmacias provide?

Benefits for the pharmacist

• Strengthen the role of the pharmacist in the current context
• Having online resources in the new era of digital health
• Build patient loyalty and offer them specific services related to their pathology
• Increased training and resources for more personalized care of your COPD patient
• Information to guide people in the knowledge, management of their disease, treatment and consistency in their care

Benefits for the patient and caregivers

• Personalized care for the control of respiratory health
• Follow-up and guidance for better management of the disease
• Personalized care plans according to the needs of each person and their environment
• Reports with quality and relevant data for the medical team

Community Benefits

• Being a complement to the care offered by the public health service, especially at the community level, with innovative resources (face-to-face and online).

 

If you want to know more about this project, visit HappyAir Pharmacies on our website or write to info@happyair.org