ciTechCare participates in the 1st International Congress on Pulmonary Rehabilitation

The 1st edition of the International Congress on Pulmonary Rehabilitation took place in Ílhavo on March 26th and 27th, where several researchers and fellows from ciTechCare, presented some of their research work in the field of Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR).

Joana Cruz, PhD, was an invited speaker in the session “Settings for Pulmonary Rehabilitation,” presenting her research work “Maintenance Pulmonary Rehabilitation: where, when, and how?”.

Nádia Hipólito, a PhD fellow, presented the poster titled “Physical activity interventions across pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD – a scoping review of methods and behaviour change techniques.” This work is part of a scoping review that characterized the methodologies and behavior change techniques of physical activity promotion interventions occurring alongside Pulmonary Rehabilitation in people with COPD, which are still highly heterogeneous and under-reported.

Sofia Flora, also a PhD fellow, presented the work titled “Acceptability of an eHealth physical activity coaching intervention in people with COPD undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation.” This study examined how acceptable a physical activity promotion intervention was for people with COPD undergoing Pulmonary Rehabilitation, using an eHealth platform consisting of a web app for healthcare providers and a mobile app for patients. The intervention was positively valued, especially for its potential to increase awareness of physical activity.

This scientific event is an initiative of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Working Group of the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology. The proceeds are intended to support National Health Service (SNS) hospitals that lack PR equipment, thereby expanding the number of hospital programs available in Portugal.