Background

- Job Title: Digital Pulmonary Rehabilitation Physiotherapist
- Location: Remote in India. Based in Maharashtra a plus.
- Contract: Full-time with shared weekend cover, initial term to align with our current programme cycle, with potential for extension. Part-time considered.
- Salary: Competitive, commensurate with experience (₹35,000 - ₹50,000 /month)

About Respira Health Respira Health is a nonprofit tackling chronic respiratory disease in India by providing free-of-cost, accessible pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) via WhatsApp. PR is a proven treatment that can reduce mortality risk and improve quality of life, yet fewer than 3% of patients in India have access. Our programme combines an 8-week WhatsApp chatbot-delivered exercise and education intervention with physiotherapist oversight.

We're aiming to enrol 1,000+ participants by March 2027, with a longer-term ambition of reaching 100,000+ annually through government-embedded delivery. Our current priority is building evidence that our programme delivers real health improvements, at a cost per participant that supports future scale.

Role Overview

Respira Health currently enrols participants into our 8-week PR programme largely by advertising on Facebook. We're looking for a physiotherapist to support the participant journey end to end. This involves:

- Conducting baseline and endline video assessments with participants to measure their progress over the course of the programme
- Screening programme applicants who require a clinical judgement on their suitability
- Engaging with participants throughout the programme (eg. for support, motivation, user research)
- Providing clinical input to shape and improve the design and delivery of the programme





This is an prospect to shape both the participant experience and the evidence base for a first-of-its-kind digital PR programme in India, working closely with our existing physiotherapy team.

Key Responsibilities

Video assessments

- Conduct video call assessments with participants at baseline and endline, focused on our most clinically meaningful objective measures: likely the 1-minute sit-to-stand and breath hold test.
- Ensure assessments are conducted consistently and rigorously enough to support credible pre/post comparison.

Programme oversight & escalation

- Provide physiotherapist oversight for the WhatsApp PR programme, motivating participants, answering queries and following established escalation pathways.

Eligibility screening support

- Support chat-based eligibility screening for participants flagged by our automated and AI-assisted screening flows.

Program improvements, consistency & data quality

- Work closely with our existing physiotherapists and medical advisor to keep assessment protocols consistent and drive program improvements.
- Ensure accurate, well-documented data collection to support our evidence generation and cost-effectiveness analysis.
- Identification and reporting of bugs, issues or feedback from participants.

In-person testing at partner facilities





- Support investigations into in-person testing and research for more robust data collection in future.
- Help develop in-person protocols that sit alongside our current online-first model.

These responsibilities are completed via. Email, Whatsapp, Turn.io and use of Google Forms, Docs and Sheets. A laptop is required. Qualifications & Experience

- Masters in Cardio-Pulmonary Physiotherapy (or Bachelors of Physiotherapy with PR experience).
- Active professional registration required (IAP, RCI, or state-level equivalent).
- Strong clinical foundation in Cardio-Pulmonary Physiotherapy, and experience with COPD or chronic respiratory patients strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with PR protocols and validated outcome measures (6MWD, mMRC, CAAT, sit-to-stand, breath hold test).
- Comfortable with technology and conducting assessments over video call.
- Hindi and English proficiency required; additional regional languages a plus.

Attributes

- Comfortable working independently in a remote, digital-first role with a small team.
- Detail-oriented, with a robust sense of the importance of consistent, credible data collection.
- Patient-centred approach with empathy and cultural sensitivity.
- Ability to manage ambiguity and adapt as our assessment approach evolves.

What we offer

- Competitive pay commensurate with experience.
- The chance to conduct research that directly shapes the evidence base for a first-of-its-kind digital PR programme in India.
- Collaborative environment with international and local health experts.
- Certificate of contribution / work experience letter.
- Potential for extension and more senior involvement as the programme scales.
- Remote work.

📌 Digital Pulmonary Rehabilitation Physiotherapist (India)
🏢 Respira Health
📍 India