FRESH AIR results shared with colleagues across Euro-Asian region

Results from the FRESH AIR project featured heavily in the programme of the first IPCRG Euro-Asian Scientific Conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in October, 2018.

Project partners shared their experiences and recommendations for dissemination within other countries in the Euro-Asian region. The conference also presented the opportunity for the first showing of a project film on pulmonary rehabilitation in Kyrgyzstan showing feasibility and acceptability of introducing it in remote and rural areas for people who are breathless from COPD and TB.

380 primary care delegates from medicine and nursing backgrounds attended from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Russian Federation. There was a huge interest in the results of the project, with several full sessions covering the learning outcomes from FRESH AIR.

Sian Williams, Chief Executive Officer of the IPCRG and WP7 lead for FRESHAIR, said:

“The conference represented a wonderful opportunity to show frontline workers and policy makers why FRESH AIR was important, and to share with them our experiences and successes in Kyrgyzstan. We hope that through this important dissemination work, the project can leave a lasting legacy, not only in our partner countries but also in the wider region.   We ran three parallel programmes: one for nurses, one for GPs and one for clinical teachers. 

“We were also delighted to have the opportunity to talk to colleagues from the Swiss and Finnish governments about their work in Kyrgyzstan to tackle the burden of non-communicable diseases – in particular looking at clinical recruitment and education and rolling out a nationwide tobacco control programme including treating tobacco dependence.  It has been very rewarding to meet and discuss with a wide variety of primary care professionals how the results of the project can be utilised now FRESH AIR has drawn to a close.”