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Research Update: Emily Cooper

Hi everyone! This week I am coming to you with a research update - the first of our blog posts! As a reminder if you haven’t seen our other posts - my PhD is on singing for people with respiratory conditions.

Yesterday I finished the first stage of data collection for my PhD! Officially marking the end of the delivery of the Relax, Breathe and Sing sessions.


Relax, Breathe and Sing was a course of 10 sessions for people with long term health conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, COPD, Asthma, Long Covid and more. Common symptoms of the participants were fatigue, breathlessness, anxiety, brain fog, and problems with the voice. We had, on average, 16 participants at each session which was really encouraging.


The sessions provided a “safe place” (as one of our participants said) where you are allowed to be yourself. You are allowed to cough, you are allowed to lie down, you are allowed to sit out for a bit. It’s a safe and encouraging environment where people with chronic health conditions can come together, feel a sense of community, do breathing and vocal exercises, do meditation and mindfulness, and even sing songs in 4 part harmony!


It was a highly rewarding experience to observe and research these sessions. It concluded with a focus group on Wednesday where five of the participants attended to tell us more about their experiences. I spent yesterday and today going through the audio transcription and we already have some amazing quotes from participants which will help us with the funding applications we are currently working on so that the sessions can continue!


Feel free to follow me on my PhD Instagram to see more about my life as a PhD researcher and singer! @study_and_sing
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