Breathlessness
Weak senior woman with walking stick struggling to breathe

Get involved

Interested in finding out more? To express your interest in joining the Breathlessness SNSC, email paccsc@uts.edu.au (palliative interest) or cst@uts.edu.au (cancer symptom interest).

Subcommittee Chair

Dr Slavica Kochovska

Dr Slavica Kochovska is the inaugural PaCCSC Postdoctoral Research Fellow. She is an early career researcher whose research focuses on improving the quality of patient-clinician communication at the end of life and the science of consenting in palliative care clinical research. Her program of research includes qualitative, mixed methods and population-based studies to help identify the advanced symptom needs of people living with life-limiting illnesses, and their families; advance the palliative and cancer care service provision for these populations; and translate this evidence into clinical practice and policy. Her health services research aims to improve communication in the clinical setting by developing novel assessment methods that would facilitate an earlier recognition of the impact of advanced symptoms on people's everyday lives and help facilitate a more systematic and effective recognition of advanced symptom burden on patients, caregivers and the community at large.  

Slavica has an academic background in theoretical linguistics and over ten years' research and teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She also has experience in healthcare project management, quality improvement and implementation science. She has extensive expertise in conducting systematic reviews and commissioned reports to build the evidence base, policy and practice in the service provision of palliative and cancer supportive care. Her research interests also include health literacy in palliative care, and consumer involvement in healthcare research. Slavica holds a Bachelor of Arts (Highest Honours) (University of Auckland, NZ, 1998), Masters in Linguistics (First Class Honours) (University of Auckland, NZ, 2000) and a PhD in Linguistics (Rutgers University, USA, 2010).

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.