Comfort Fan Project

Our Project focuses on a simple yet profoundly effective intervention: providing small, portable, hand-held fans to patients in a palliative care setting and those living with chronic lung disease.

Dyspnea (shortness of breath) is one of the most distressing and common symptoms experienced by patients. It affects up to 90% of all patients, regardless of diagnosis, in the last days of life. For those with chronic respiratory conditions, dyspnea severely limits the ability to participate in the day-to-day activities most of us take for granted. This sensation arises from a perceived mismatch between the body’s respiratory demand and its actual supply of air.

While managing shortness of breath often involves medication, this is an intervention that is low-cost, highly effective, provides zero side-effects, and is non-pharmacologic.

The use of a fan is a proven and researched intervention shown to significantly increase patient comfort. The mechanism is simple yet powerful: a fan blowing cool air onto the lower half of the face excites the trigeminal nerve endings in that area. This sensory input sends a signal to the brain, overriding the distress signal caused by the sensation of breathlessness. In essence, the brain perceives that the patient is receiving enough air, easing the perceived “air hunger.”

This simple intervention allows patients during the last days of their lives to experience increased comfort and enables those living with chronic respiratory conditions to engage more fully in their daily life.

We believe that end-of-life care is just as important as supporting patients who have good life expectancy outcomes. While palliative care fundraising and support is often overlooked, the quality of comfort and dignity offered during a person’s final chapter is a fundamental measure of compassionate community care.

Sleapy’s Foundation was the proud recipient of a grant from Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG), enabling us to expand the program allowing a broader range of patients across our region to access this effective tool.