World Chronic Cough Day

Prof Stuart Mazzone hosts outreach event for clinical trial patients in recognition of World Chronic Cough Day.

Held annually in October, World Chronic Cough Day puts the spotlight on the challenges faced by millions living with chronic cough - a condition often misunderstood and under diagnosed. This global awareness day aims to educate the public, empower patients and encourage healthcare providers to adopt more effective diagnostic and treatment strategies.

This year, in honour of World Chronic Cough Day, Prof Stuart Mazzone (Pathophysiology of Chronic Cough, IMPACT CRE & Head of Respiratory Sensory Neuroscience Lab in DAP), hosted an outreach event for his clinical trial patients.

^{Image:  Prof Stuart Mazzone presenting at outreach event}

Held last week at Graduate House the event saw attendees come together for lunch, an icebreaker pop quiz about chronic cough, presentations from Prof Stuart Mazzone, Dr Abigail Wiley (patient perspective), Lucy Bath (Speech Pathology Management) and Dinah Woon (Lung Foundation Australia's ‘Be Cough Aware’ project) and a Q&A panel with the presenters.

^{Image: Outreach event attendees}

An open discussion on unexplained and refractory cough provided a valuable opportunity to connect patients with researchers and a speech pathologist. The highlight of the session was the Q&A panel, where patients shared personal experiences and engaged in meaningful dialogue about future treatment possibilities.

I do believe people came away from the event feeling validated about their shared experiences and made connections with other patients...researchers came away with more understanding of the community their work is serving.

^{Dr Tara Bautista}