Welcome to UPTURN

UPTURN (Research title: Co-design and evaluation of an intervention to increase UPTake of pUlmonary RehabilitatioN for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a new 5-year, £2.8m research programme funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The study aims to help people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) take up, and therefore benefit from, Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR). COPD is a common lung condition where air cannot get out of the lungs easily because the airflow is obstructed. In England around 80,000 people live with COPD, which causes breathlessness, a persistent cough, and wheezing. 

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"PR is a treatment programme of exercise and education designed to help patients manage their symptoms and live well with the disease. We already know that PR leads to fewer admissions to hospital as well as a better quality of life for 90% of people who complete it." Dr Jonathan Fuld, Clinical Lead East of England Respiratory Network

Unfortunately, up to one third of COPD patients do not attend their initial PR assessment or fail to take up the programme, and therefore never get the benefit of the treatment. UPTURN aims to address these issues, working to co-design a support package in partnership with healthcare professionals, people living with COPD and their families.

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Some ethnic minority groups have higher rates of COPD than others and have low attendance at PR assessment. There can be many reasons for this. The UPTURN study will start by working with people living with COPD from the Bangladeshi and African and Caribbean communities and their families, to understand their specific questions and concerns about PR. 

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The UPTURN team comprises researchers from various UK institutions, including the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (sponsor), Universities of Cambridge, Leicester, York, Norwich Clinical Trials Unit, University College London and King’s College London. Patient and public contributors, including representatives from ethnic minority communities, are central to the research team.

A key part of the programme will be building community relationships and focusing on what matters most to patients. The team will also work with community researchers to help ensure that ethnic minority patients and carers are included in the study.