World COPD Day 2011, Twitter chat

11 November 2011

Wednesday 16^th November is World COPD Day 2011. At Education for Health we want to use this opportunity to raise awareness of COPD and change perceptions.

We will be hosting a live, one hour, web-chat on the day from 16.00 (GMT). Tweets from any country or region are welcome at any time – just remember to include the #WorldCOPDday hash tag to ensure participants are able to view your posts!

We hope this activity will keep an ongoing, open dialogue between patients, healthcare professionals, journalists, tweeters and bloggers and help raise awareness about the impact of COPD on active and productive patients across the world!.

The Twitter chat will be led by Monica Fletcher, CEO of Education for Health and we hope to provide a friendly, informative and dynamic debate where all participants can freely post questions and answers. Curiosity and “brutal facts” are welcome! The quality of dialogue is only as good as those who participate, so get involved.

#WorldCOPDday @EdforHealth

COPD Uncovered has already revealed the significant impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on a working age populations, showing:

• One fifth of the 45-67 year olds with COPD we surveyed were forced to give up work as a result of their condition¹
• The average cost to an economy of COPD is a staggering £1.5 billion²
• People suffering from COPD have a reduced quality of life and increased comorbidity rates

1. COPD Uncovered: the New Workplace Epidemic, September 2011 report

2. Baldwin M et al. A novel method to estimate the economic impact of COPD in patients of working age. Abstract and poster presented at COPD7 International Multidisciplinary Conference, 2 July 2010

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