Radboudumc leads research into paramedical recovery care after COVID-19

A national paramedical research consortium will evaluate paramedical recovery care for patients with COVID-19 in close collaboration with the field. The paramedical care that will be evaluated includes exercise therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, dietetics, and physical therapy in the first line.

The consortium consists of researchers from various knowledge centers throughout the Netherlands, including the Rehabilitation and IQ healthcare departments of Radboudumc. From the Radboudumc the cart is pulled by project leader Thomas Hoogeboom and professor Philip van der Wees of the chair Paramedical Sciences.

Recovery care in the basic package

On 18 July 2020, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport decided to conditionally include primary paramedical recovery care for patients who have undergone severe COVID 19 in the basic package. The aim of this study is to map the effectiveness and costs of this care with various methods, such as analyzing already registered data, tracking patients over time and analyzing different groups of patients. Important outcomes are, for example, opportunities for participation in society, quality of life and fatigue.

This research is made possible by a unique collaboration of many important parties in the field of paramedical care. Not only do eight knowledge institutions (Universities, Colleges of Applied Sciences and the Nivel) collaborate, but patient representatives from various organizations, the paramedical professional organizations (Association of Exercise Therapists Cesar and Mensendieck, Occupational Therapy the Netherlands, Dutch Society for Speech Therapy and Phoniatrics, Dutch Association of Dieticians, Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy, Stichting Keurmerk Fysiotherapie), the general practitioners, medical specialists, insurers and the Netherlands Healthcare Institute involved in this research. The research is funded by ZonMw.