European Respiratory Society statement on frailty in adults with chronic lung disease.

Frailty is a complex, multidimensional syndrome characterised by a loss of physiological reserves that increases a person's susceptibility to adverse health outcomes. Most knowledge regarding frailty originates from geriatric medicine; however, awareness of its importance as a treatable trait for people with chronic respiratory disease (including asthma, COPD and interstitial lung disease) is emerging. A clearer understanding of frailty and its impact in chronic respiratory disease is a prerequisite to optimise clinical management in the future. This unmet need underpins the rationale for undertaking the present work. This European Respiratory Society statement synthesises current evidence and clinical insights from international experts and people affected by chronic respiratory conditions regarding frailty in adults with chronic respiratory disease. The scope includes coverage of frailty within international respiratory guidelines, prevalence and risk factors, review of clinical management options (including comprehensive geriatric care, rehabilitation, nutrition, pharmacological and psychological therapies) and identification of evidence gaps to inform future priority areas of research. Frailty is underrepresented in international respiratory guidelines, despite being common and related to increased hospitalisation and mortality. Validated screening instruments can detect frailty to prompt comprehensive assessment and personalised clinical management. Clinical trials targeting people with chronic respiratory disease and frailty are needed.

ERS International Congress 2022: highlights from the Allied Respiratory Professionals Assembly.

In this article, we provide a brief overview of some of the outstanding sessions that were (co)organised by the Allied Respiratory Professionals Assembly during the 2022 European Respiratory Society International Congress, which was held in a hybrid format. Early Career Members from Assembly 9 summarised the content of the sessions, with the support of the Officers from the four Assembly groups: Respiratory Function Technologists and Scientists (Group 9.01); Physiotherapists (Group 9.02); Nurses (Group 9.03); and Psychologists and Behavioural Scientists (Group 9.04). The sessions covered the following topics: recent advances in cardiopulmonary exercise and challenge testing; the role and new trends in physiotherapy, exercise and physical activity promotion interventions in chronic respiratory diseases; development of the international curriculum for respiratory nurses and nursing aspects in disease management; and treatment adherence, e-health interventions and post-coronavirus disease 2019 challenges. This Highlights article targets delegates who attended the Congress sessions, as well as those who were unable to attend, and provides valuable insight into the latest scientific data and emerging areas affecting the clinical practice of Allied Respiratory Professionals.

Need and baseline for harmonising nursing education in respiratory care: preliminary results of a global survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic confirmed that respiratory nurses are critical healthcare providers. Limited knowledge is available about appropriate education to prepare nurses to deliver high-quality respiratory care. A survey was developed by the International Coalition for Respiratory Nursing (ICRN) group to identify the need for a respiratory nursing core curriculum. Method: A 39-item survey was distributed to 33 respiratory nursing experts in 27 countries. Questions asked about current roles, perception of need, expectations for a core curriculum project and respiratory content in nursing education in their countries. Results: 30 responses from 25 countries were analysed; participants predominantly worked in academia (53.3%, 16/30) and clinical practice (40%, 12/30). In total, 97% (29/30) confirmed a need for a core respiratory nursing curriculum. Post-registration nursing programmes at bachelor (83.3%, 25/30) and masters (63.3%, 19/30) levels include internal/medical nursing care; less than half identified separate respiratory nursing content. The core educational programme developed should include knowledge (70%, 21/30), skills (60%, 18/30), and competencies (50%, 15/30), with separate paediatric and adult content. Conclusion: Survey results confirm a wide variation in nursing education and respiratory nursing education across the world, with many countries lacking any formal educational programmes to prepare nurses capable of providing enhanced quality respiratory care. These findings support the need for a core respiratory curriculum. To advance this significant work the ICRN group plans to conduct a Delphi study to identify core curriculum requirements for respiratory nursing education at pre-registration and advanced educational levels to flexibly meet each country's specific educational requirements for recognition of respiratory nursing speciality practice.

Croatian National Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients' experiences of the healthcare system, care, and treatment are increasingly viewed as important in order to inform and improve quality of care, patient safety, and treatment efficacy. Understanding patient experience is a key step in moving toward patient-centred care. The aims of this study were to determine the experience of cancer patients in Central and Eastern European countries and to identify the needs and perspectives of oncological patients during the cancer treatment. In this paper, results from Croatia are presented. METHODS: A sixty-nine item online survey was translated by native-language participating countries. Only registered members (subjects with confirmed cancer diagnosis) of the national patient oncology associations in each participating country were allowed to access and complete the online questionnaire (n = 16,458). Data were collected between October 2018 to February 2019. The Croatian Coalition of Health Associations enabled the authors of this paper to use the collected data from a sample of the Croatian participants (n = 2460) for the purposes of publication. RESULTS: Two-thirds (67.3%) of the respondents reported satisfaction with the length of time needed for getting tests done. Bad news was delivered sensitively to 52.97% of the participants, and 52.76% received a cancer treatment plan. During the hospitalisation, 45.93% responded that they did not find someone from the hospital staff whom they could talk to about their worries and fears, and 57.48% were not given any contact information in case of concerns about their condition or treatment following the discharge. Regarding the patients' preferences, needs, and values, 60.81% of the respondents felt that the greatest improvement would be to perform all services in one place, and 55.28% felt that improvement would be achieved through a multidisciplinary team coordinated by one person. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals domains that need to be addressed in the overall Croatian healthcare system for oncology patients. Based on the obtained data, we can conclude that there is a large need for improvement in patient experience on the oncology pathway.

ERS International Congress 2021: highlights from the Allied Respiratory Professionals assembly.

This paper provides an overview of some of the most memorable sessions that were (co)organised by the Allied Respiratory Professionals Assembly during the 2021 European Respiratory Society International Congress, which was held online for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early Career Members from Assembly 9 summarised the content of the sessions (three oral communication sessions, two symposia and one Expert View) with the support of the chairs from the four Assembly groups: Respiratory Function Technologists and Scientists (Group 9.01); Physiotherapists (Group 9.02); Nurses (Group 9.03); and Psychologists and Behavioural Scientists (Group 9.04). The sessions covered the following topics: impact of COVID-19 on lung function and healthcare services, and the importance of quality assurance and technology in lung function assessment; diagnosis and management of sarcopenia in patients with chronic respiratory disease; maintenance of the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation; solutions outside the hospital for the management of patients with COVID-19 in need of health care; the nursing perspective during the COVID-19 pandemic; and psychological and behavioural issues in respiratory care. This highlights article provides valuable insight into the latest scientific data and emerging areas affecting clinical practice of allied respiratory professionals.

ERS International Congress 2020 Virtual: highlights from the Allied Respiratory Professionals Assembly.

This article provides an overview of outstanding sessions that were (co)organised by the Allied Respiratory Professionals Assembly during the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2020, which this year assumed a virtual format. The content of the sessions was mainly targeted at allied respiratory professionals, including respiratory function technologists and scientists, physiotherapists, and nurses. Short take-home messages related to spirometry and exercise testing are provided, highlighting the importance of quality control. The need for quality improvement in sleep interventions is underlined as it may enhance patient outcomes and the working capacity of healthcare services. The promising role of digital health in chronic disease management is discussed, with emphasis on the value of end-user participation in the development of these technologies. Evidence on the effectiveness of airway clearance techniques in chronic respiratory conditions is provided along with the rationale for its use and challenges to be addressed in future research. The importance of assessing, preventing and reversing frailty in respiratory patients is discussed, with a clear focus on exercise-based interventions. Research on the impact of disease-specific fear and anxiety on patient outcomes draws attention to the need for early assessment and intervention. Finally, advances in nursing care related to treatment adherence, self-management and patients' perspectives in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are provided, highlighting the need for patient engagement and shared decision making. This highlights article provides readers with valuable insight into the latest scientific data and emerging areas affecting clinical practice of allied respiratory professionals.

Do we need tailored training and development plans for European Union respiratory nurses?

Nurses are critical players in healthcare and should be the next profession to standardise levels of education, preparing them for an active partnership with other healthcare professionals prepared to tackle the chronic disease problem in Europe https://bit.ly/3bMR76b.

ERS International Congress, Madrid, 2019: highlights from the Allied Respiratory Professionals' Assembly.

This article provides an overview of outstanding sessions that were (co)organised by the Allied Respiratory Professionals' Assembly during the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2019 in Madrid, Spain. Session content was mainly targeted at allied respiratory professionals such as respiratory physiologists, respiratory physiotherapists and respiratory nurses, and is summarised in this document. Short take-home messages related to pulmonary function testing highlight the importance of quality control. Furthermore, novel findings regarding the assessment of functional status call attention to bodily factors that can affect functional status. Regarding pulmonary rehabilitation, data were presented about the use of equipment and type of exercise training in COPD and lung cancer. Recent developments in physical activity-related research give insight in enablers of physical activity after hospital admission. The importance of integrated respiratory care was also highlighted, with the occupational therapist, nurse, and nutritional and psychological counsellor playing a pivotal role, which relates directly to research in the field of respiratory nursing that formulates the need for more nursing led-interventions in the future. To conclude, this review provides readers with valuable insight into some of the emerging and future areas affecting clinical practice of allied healthcare professionals.

European Respiratory Society International Congress 2018: Allied Respiratory Professionals' report of highlighted sessions.

This article provides an overview of outstanding sessions that were supported by Assembly 9 during the recent European Respiratory Society International Congress in Paris, France. Session content was mainly targeted at allied health professionals such as respiratory physiologists, respiratory physiotherapists and respiratory nurses. Recent developments and novel findings related to pulmonary function testing, respiratory muscle function assessments and treatment, and multidimensional and multidisciplinary approaches to the assessment and management of dyspnoea were the focus of these sessions and are summarised here.

Respiratory nursing training in Croatia.

Nursing education in the Republic of Croatia is conducted at the secondary and higher education levels (post-secondary and tertiary). Croatian nursing education is in line with the recommendations of European Directives 2005/36/EC [1] and 2013/55/EU [2]. High school (secondary level) education lasts for 5 years; after graduation, students are awarded the title "general care nurse" [3].