Assessment of Corona Burden Tool

Like other respiratory illnesses, COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, can cause lasting lung damage. The recently launched “Assessment of Corona Burden Tool” (Corona Ziektelastmeter), helps people who were infected with the virus to get more control over the complaints they may experience.

The tool consists of a questionnaire that addresses several possible complaints. It examines the physical, emotional, psychological and / or social aspects that play a role in the perceived burden of disease. The tool provides a simple visualization of outcomes, which gives users insight in the severity of their complaints. If necessary, they can be referred to a healthcare provider. Furthermore, the visualisation helps patients and healthcare providers set a personal goal and make an individual treatment plan. The tool can be used several times to see the developments over time.

This assessment of burden tool has initially been developed for people with the respiratory disease COPD (ABC tool). Studies showed that use of the ABC tool increases quality of life and quality of care in patients with COPD. Together with the Lung Foundation Netherlands, prof. Onno van Schayck and his team (RL Optimising Patient Care) adapted the tool for people who have had a corona infection, based on information from the RIVM and studies from abroad. This disease burden tool has not yet been studied within this specific patient group. Therefore is not yet known whether all complaints are included in the tool and whether the severity of the complaints is accurately displayed. It will be validated in the coming months.

More information on the tool

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