Anna Andersson-Watz

About Anna Andersson-Watz

Anna Andersson-Watz is a Physiotherapist at Karlskoga Hospital, Region Örebro County and a PhD student at the University Health Care Research Center, Region Örebro County and the Department of Medical Sciences, Örebro University. In Anna's PhD project, treatment with a mechanical insufflation-exsufflation device is studied for people with progressive neurological disease and weak cough. The aim of the project is to describe the experiences and effects of the treatment by exploring the perspective from the patient who uses the device at home and the healthcare staff involved in introducing the treatment. Anna is also a PBL (problem-based learning) seminar supervisor at the medical program at Örebro University.

About the Research Project

The mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (MI-E) device is used to compensate for weak respiratory muscles and to help mobilize mucus from the airways and facilitate breathing in patients with progressive neurological disease. However, the scientific evidence for the MI-E device treatment is insufficient and there is a need to gain more knowledge. Breathing is vital, and it is easy to understand that when it does not work properly, it will affect us in a fundamental way. To advance the field, we need to gain a broad understanding of the treatment by exploring the perspective of the patient and the healthcare staff involved in introducing the treatment, in this case the physiotherapists. The overall aim of the thesis work is therefore, from the perspective of patients and physiotherapists, to describe experiences and effects from introduction and treatment with a cough machine for people with progressive neurological disease.